'Aa 


THE  VICTIM 


BOOKS  BY  THOMAS  D1XON 

The  Victim 

The  Southerner 

The  Sins  of  the  Father 

The  Leopard's  Spots 

The  Clansman 

The  Traitor 

The  One  Woman 

Comrades 

The  Root  of  Evil 

The  Life  Worth  Living 


176 


The  man  in  front  gave  a  short  laugh  and  advanced 
on  the  girl " 


[Page  300] 


THE    VICTIM 

A   ROMANCE  OF 
THE  REAL  JEFFERSON  DAVIS 


BY 

THOMAS  DIXON 

"A  majestic  soul  has  passed" — CHAHLES  A.  DANA 


ILLUSTRATED    BY 

J.    N.    MARCHAND 


NEW   YORK  AND  LONDON 

D.  APPLETON  AND   COMPANY 

1914 


COPYRIGHT,    1914,    BY 

THOMAS    DIXON 

All  rights  reserved,  including  that  of  translation  into  all 
foreign  languages,  including  the  Scandinavian 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO 

THE  BRAVE  WHO  DIED 
FOR  WHAT  THEY  BELIEVED 
TO  BE  RIGHT 


912727 


Fold  up  the  banners!     Smelt  the  guns! 
Love  rules.     Her  gentle  purpose  runs. 
A  mighty  mother  turns  in  tears 
The  pages  of  her  battle  years 
Lamenting  all  her  fallen  sons! 

THOMPSON 


TO  THE  READER 

In  the  historical  romance  which  I  have  woven  of  the 
dramatic  events  of  the  life  of  Jefferson  Davis  I  have 
drawn  his  real  character  unobscured  by  passion  or 
prejudice.  Forced  by  his  people  to  lead  their  cause, 
his  genius  created  an  engine  of  war  so  terrible  in  its 
power  that  through  it  five  million  Southerners,  without 
money,  without  a  market,  without  credit,  withstood  for 
four  years  the  shock  of  twenty  million  men  of  their  own 
blood  and  of  equal  daring,  backed  by  boundless  re 
sources. 

The  achievement  is  without  a  parallel  in  history,  and 
adds  new  glory  to  the  records  of  our  race. 

The  scenes  have  all  been  drawn  from  authentic 
records  in  my  possession.  I  have  not  at  any  point 
taken  a  liberty  with  an  essential  detail  of  history. 

THOMAS  DIXON. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PROLOGUE  .......     .     .,    :.,     .     ..      3 

CHAPTER 

I  THE  CURTAIN  RISES     .......     69 

II  THE  PARTING    .........     k.,     .      82 

III  A  MIDNIGHT  SESSION ,.     ..   100 

IV  A  FRIENDLY  WARNING      ......   107 

V  BOY  AND  GIRL 109 

VI  GOD'S   WILL ...     .      .115 

VII  THE  BEST  MAN  WINS  ...      .,     .,     ...     ,.     ,.   120 

VIII  THE  STORM  CENTER ,     ,.,     ..,  125 

IX  THE  OLD  REGIME ......   137 

X  THE  GAUGE  OF  BATTLE  .......    145 

XI  JENNIE'S  VISION .      .      .   156 

XII  A  LITTLE   CLOUD .«    i*  164 

XIII  THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  RANKS  .....   166 

XIV  RICHMOND  IN  GALA  DRESS      .....    179 
XV  THE  HOUSE  ON  CHURCH  HILL    .      .      .      ..189 

XVI  THE  FLOWER-DECKED  TENT  .      .      .     ,.,    ...  195 

XVII  THE  FATAL  VICTORY 201 

XVIII  THE  AFTERMATH     .........   219 

XIX  SOCOLA'S  PROBLEM  .      .      .      .      .     ,.,     .     ..  233 

XX  THE  ANACONDA      .......     .      .   242 

XXI  GATHERING  CLOUDS      .......   245 

XXII  JENNIE'S  RECRUIT 257 

XXIII  THE  FATAL  BLUNDER  .      .      ...     ......   264 

XXIV  THE  SLEEPING  LIONESS 274 

XXV  THE  BOMBARDMENT 284 

XXVI  THE  IRREPARABLE  Loss  .    305 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXVII     THE  LIGHT  THAT  FAILED 315 

XXVIII  THE  SNARE  OF  THE  FOWLER   ....  326 

XXIX  THE  PANIC  IN  RICHMOND        ....  336 

XXX     THE    DELIVERANCE 350 

XXXI     LOVE    AND    WAR 360 

XXXII     THE   PATH   OF   GLORY 363 

XXXIII  THE    ACCUSATION 385 

XXXIV  THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 392 

XXXV     SUSPICION 406 

XXXVI     THE    FATAL    DEED 409 

XXXVII     THE    RAIDERS 417 

XXXVIII     THE    DISCOVERY 424 

XXXIX     THE    CONSPIRATORS 440 

XL     IN  SIGHT  OF  VICTORY 447 

XLI  THE    FALL   OF    RICHMOND      ....  459 

XLII     THE    CAPTURE 470 

XLIII     THE    VICTOR 484 

XLIV     PRISON    BARS 487 

XLV     THE  MASTER  MIND 496 

XLVI     THE    TORTURE 501 

XLVII  VINDICATION                                                   ,506 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


"  The  man  in  front  gave  a  short  laugh  and 

advanced  on  the  girl  " Frontispiece 

'  You  have  given  me  new  eyes  — '  " 48 

'We   have   won,  sir!'   was  the  short  curt  answer"  216 
"  Dick  saluted  and  sprang  into  the  saddle  — '  I  under 
stand,  sir  '  " 310 

"  Jennie  thrust  her  trembling  little  figure  between  the 

two  men  and  confronted  Dick  " 388 

"  '  Do  your  duty  —  put  them  on  him! '  "     .      .      .      .  490 


LEADING  CHARACTERS  OF  THE  STORY 

The  Prologue 
1814-1853 

LT.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  Of  the  U.  S.  Army. 

JOSEPH  E.  DAVIS.,  His  Big  Brother. 

COLONEL  ZACHARY  TAYLOR,  "  Old  Rough  and  Ready." 

SARAH  KNOX  TAYLOR,  His  Daughter. 

JAMES  PEMBERTON,  A  Faithful  Slave. 

The  Story 

1860-1867 

HON.  ROGER  BARTON,  An  Original  Secessionist. 
JENNIE,  His  Daughter. 
DICK  WELFORD,  A  Confederate  Soldier. 
JOSEPH  HOLT,  A  Renegade  Southerner. 
HENRICO  SOCOLA,  A  Soldier  of  Fortune. 
THE  PRESIDENT,  Of  the  Confederacy. 
MRS.  DAVIS,  His  Wife. 
BURTON  HARRISON,  His  Secretary. 
JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON,  A  Master  of  Retreat. 
P.  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD,  The  First  Hero. 
STONEWALL  JACKSON,  Of  the  "  Foot  Cavalry." 
ROBERT  E.  LEE,  The  Southern  Commander. 
U.  S.  GRANT,  The  Bull  Dog  Fighter. 
NELSON  A.  MILES,  A  Jailor. 
JOHN  C.  UNDERWOOD,  A  Reconstruction  Judge. 


THE   VICTIM 
-Prologue 


THE  VICTIM 


PROLOGUE 


KIDNAPPED 

The  hot  sun  of  the  South  was  sinking  in  red  glow 
through  the  giant  tree-tops  of  a  Mississippi  forest  be 
yond  the  village  of  Woodville.  A  slender  girl  stood  in 
the  pathway  watching  a  boy  of  seven  trudge  manfully 
away  beside  his  stalwart  brother. 

Her  lips  trembled  and  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

"  Wait  —  wait !  "  she  cried. 

With  a  sudden  bound  she  snatched  him  to  her  heart. 

"Don't,  Polly  —  you  hurt!"  the  little  fellow  fal 
tered,  looking  at  her  with  a  feeling  of  sudden  fear. 
"  Why  did  you  squeeze  me  so  hard?  " 

"  You  shouldn't  have  done  that,  honey,"  the  big 
brother  frowned. 

"  I  know,"  the  sister  pleaded,  "  but  I  couldn't  help 
it." 

"  What  are  you  crying  about?  "  the  boy  questioned. 

Again  the  girl's  arm  stole  around  his  neck. 

"What's  the  matter  with  her,  Big  Brother?"  he 
asked  with  a  brave  attempt  at  scorn. 

The  man  slowly  loosened  the  sister's  arms. 

"  I'm  just  going  home  with  you,  ain't  I?  "  the  child 
went  on,  with  a  quiver  in  his  voice. 

3 


THE  VICTIM 


The  older  brother  led  him  to  a  fallen  log,  sat  down, 
and  held  his  handk*. 

"'No,  Boy,"  he  said  quietly.  "I'd  as  well  tell  you 
t^e  im^h  bow.  I'm* -going  to  send  you  to  Kentucky  to 
a  wonderful  school)  taught  by  learned  men  from  the  Old 
World  —  wise  monks  who  know  everything.  You  want 
to  go  to  a  real  school,  don't  you?  " 

"  But  my  Mamma  don't  know  — " 

"That's  just  it,  Boy.  We  can't  teU  her.  She 
wouldn't  let  you  go." 

"Why?"' 

"  Well,  she's  a  good  Baptist,  and  it's  a  long,  long  way 
to  the  St.  Thomas  monastery." 

"How  far?" 

"  A  thousand  miles,  through  these  big  woods  — " 

The  blue  eyes  dimmed. 

"  I  want  to  see  my  Mamma  before  I  go  — "  his  voice 
broke. 

The  man  shook  his  head. 

"  No,  Boy  ;  it  won't  do.     You're  her  baby  — " 

The  dark  head  sank  with  a  cry. 

"  I  want  to  see  her !  " 

"  Come,  come,  Jeff  Davis,  you're  going  to  be  a  sol 
dier.  Remember  you're  the  son  of  a  soldier  who  fought 
under  General  Washington  and  won  our  freedom. 
You're  named  after  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  great  Presi 
dent.  Your  three  brothers  have  just  come  home  from 
New  Orleans.  Under  Old  Hickory  we  drove  the  Brit 
ish  back  into  their  ships  and  sent  'em  flying  home  to 
England.  The  son  of  a  soldier  —  the  brother  of  sol 
diers  —  can't  cry  — " 

"  I  will  if  I  want  to !  " 

"All  right!"  the  man  laughed— "I'll  hold  my  hat 
and  you  can  cry  it  full  — " 

He  removed  his  hat  and  held  it  smilingly  under  the 
boy's  firm  little  chin.  The  childish  lips  tightened  and 


KIDNAPPED 


the  cheeks  flushed  with  anger.  His  bare  toes  began  to 
dig  holes  in  the  soft  rich  earth.  The  appeal  to  his  sol 
dier  blood  had  struck  into  the  pride  of  his  heart  and  the 
insult  of  a  hat  full  of  tears  had  hurt. 

At  last  he  found  his  tongue: 

"  Does  Pa  know  I'm  goin'?  " 

"  Yes.  He  thinks  you're  a  very  small  boy  to  go  so 
far,  but  knows  it's  for  the  best." 

"  That's  why  he  kissed  me  when  I  left?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  I  thought  it  was  funny,"  he  murmured  with  a  half 
sob  ;  "  he  never  kissed  me  before  — " 

"  He's  quiet  and  reserved,  Boy,  but  he's  wise  and 
good  and  loves  you.  He's  had  a  hard  time  out  here  in 
the  wilderness  fighting  his  way  with  a  wife  and  ten  chil 
dren.  He  never  had  a  chance  to  get  an  education  and 
the  children  didn't  either.  Some  of  us  are  too  old  now. 
There's  time  for  you.  We're  going  to  stand  aside  and 
let  you  pass.  You're  our  baby  brother,  and  we  love 


The  child's  hand  slowly  stole  into  the  rough  one  of 
the  man. 

"  And  I  love  you,  Big  Brother  — "  the  little  voice 
faltered,  "  and  all  the  others,  too,  and  that's-why-I'm- 
not-goin' !  " 

"  I'm  so  glad !  "  The  girl  clapped  her  hands  and 
laughed. 

«  Polly  !  — " 

"  Well,  I  am,  and  I  don't  care  what  you  say.  He's 
too  little  to  go  so  far  and  you  know  he  is  — " 

The  man  grasped  her  hand  and  whispered : 

"Hush!" 

The  brother  slipped  his  arm  around  the  Boy  and 
drew  him  on  his  knee.  He  waited  a  moment  until  the 
hard  lines  at  the  corners  of  the  firm  mouth  had  relaxed 
under  the  pressure  of  his  caress,  pushed  the  tangled  hair 

5 


THE  VICTIM 


back  from  his  forehead  and  looked  into  the  fine  blue- 
gray  eyes.  His  voice  was  tender  and  his  speech  slow. 

"  You  must  make  up  your  mind  to  go,  Boy.  I  don't 
want  to  force  you.  I  like  to  see  your  eyes  flash  when 
you  say  you  won't  go.  You've  got  the  stuff  in  you 
that  real  men  are  made  of.  That's  why  it's  worth 
while  to  send  you.  I've  seen  that  since  you  could  toddle 
about  the  house  and  stamp  your  feet  when  things  didn't 
suitv  you.  Now,  listen  to  me.  I've  made  a  vow  to  God 
that  you  shall  have  as  good  a  chance  as  any  man 
to  make  your  way  to  the  top.  We're  going  to  be 
the  greatest  nation  in  the  world.  I  saw  it  in  the  red 
flash  of  guns  that  day  at  New  Orleans  as  I  lay  there  in 
the  trench  and  watched  the  long  lines  of  Red  Coats  go 
down  before  us.  Just  a  lot  of  raw  recruits  with 
old  flintlocks !  The  men  who  charged  us,  the  picked 
veterans  of  England's  grand  army.  But  we  cut 
'em  to  pieces,  Boy !  I  fired  a  cannon  loaded  with  grape 
shot  that  mowed  a  lane  straight  through  'em.  It  must 
have  killed  two  hundred  men.  They  burned  our  Cap 
itol  at  Washington  and  the  Federalist  traitors  at  Hart 
ford  were  firm'  on  us  in  the  rear,  but  Old  Hickory 
showed  the  world  that  we  could  lick  England  with  one 
hand  tied  behind  our  back.  And  we  did  it.  We  drove 
'em  like  sheep  —  drove  'em  into  the  sea. 

"  There's  but  one  name  on  every  lip  in  this  country 
now,  Boy,  and  that's  Old  Hickory.  He'd  be  President 
next  time  —  but  for  one  thing, —  just  one  thing  —  he 
didn't  have  a  chance  to  learn  when  he  was  a  boy.  He's 
not  educated." 

The  brother  paused,  and  a  dreamy  look  came  into  his 
eyes.  "  We  may  make  him  President  anyhow.  But  if 
he'd  been  educated  —  there  wouldn't  be  any  if  or  and 
about  it.  Washington  and  Jefferson  and  Madison  be 
long  to  the  rich  and  powerful  class.  Jackson  is  a  yeo 
man  like  your  father.  But  he'd  be  President,  Bov,  if 

6 


KIDNAPPED 

he'd  been  educated!  Nothing  could  stop  him.  Don't 
you  see  this  is  your  country?  This  is  a  poor  man's 
world.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  train  your  mind. 
You've  got  to  do  this  —  you  understand  —  you've  got 
to  do  it  — " 

The  man  paused  suddenly  and  looked  into  the  Boy's 
wondering  eyes.  He  had  forgotten  the  child's  rebel 
lion.  The  young  pioneer  of  the  wilderness  was  talking 
to  himself.  Again  he  had  seen  a  vision. 

He  seized  the  Boy's  arms : 

"  Don't  you  see,  Boy,  don't  you?  " 

The  child's  mouth  hardened  again : 

"  No,  I  don't.  I'm  just  a  little  boy.  I  love  my 
Mamma.  She's  good  and  sweet  to  me  and  I'm  not  go 
ing  to  leave  her  — " 

Again  Polly  laughed. 

A  smile  slowly  played  about  the  brother's  lips  and 
eyes.  He  must  show  his  trump  card. 

"  But  you  don't  know  what  I've  got  for  you  — " 

"What?" 

"  Something  you've  always  wanted  to  have  for  your 
own  — " 

"A  pony?" 

The  man  slowly  rose: 

"  Come  out  to  the  big  road  — " 

The  Boy  seized  his  sister's  hand: 

"  Polly,  let's  see  !  " 

The  girl's  eyes  grew  dim: 

"  Oh,  Jeff,  I  know  you're  goin' !  " 

"  No  —  we'll  just  see  what  it  is  —  come  on !  " 

In  five  minutes  they  emerged  from  the  deep  woods 
into  the  clearing  around  a  cabin.  Beside  the  roadway 
stood  a  horse  and  pony,  both  bridled  and  saddled. 

The  swift  feet  of  the  Boy  flew  across  the  opening, 
the  sister  wide-eyed  and  trembling,  close  on  his  heels. 
He  threw  his  arms  around  the  pony's  neck  and  stroked 

7 


THE  VICTIM 


his    head   with    gentle   touch.     The    pony    pressed   his 
mouth  against  the  Boy's  cheek  in  friendly  response. 

"  Did  you  see  him  kiss  me,  Polly  ?  "  he  cried  trem 
blingly. 

"  Yes,  I  saw  him,"  was  the  solemn  response. 

"  Isn't  he  a  beauty?  Look,  Polly  —  he's  got  a  white 
spot  on  every  foot  and  one  in  his  forehead  and  black 
as  a  coal  all  over  —  and  Oh  —  what  a  saddle  —  a  red 
belt  and  red  martingales !  " 

He  touched  the  saddle  lovingly  and  circled  the  pony's 
neck  with  his  arms. 

The  brother  smiled  again: 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  that?  " 

The  Boy  was  trembling  now  from  head  to  foot,  his 
heart  in  his  throat  as  he  slowly  asked: 

"  You  mean  that  —  you'll  —  give  —  him  —  to  me  — 
for  —  all  my  own  ?  " 

"  If  you'll  be  a  good  boy,  go  to  school  and  work 
hard  —  yes." 

"  All  right,  Big  Brother,"  was  the  quick  answer,  «  I'll 
go.  Help  me  on  him  quick,  and  let  me  try  him !  " 

The  Boy  lifted  his  bare  foot  into  the  strong  hand, 
sprang  into  the  saddle,  bounded  down  the  road,  wheeled, 
flew  back  and  leaped  to  the  ground. 

"  He's  a  dandy !  " 

Polly  dropped  her  head  and  started  home,  making  a 
brave  fight  to  keep  back  the  tears.  Half  way  across 
the  clearing  she  gave  up  in  a  long  pitiful  wail. 

The  Boy,  busy  with  his  pony,  had  not  missed  her. 
In  a  moment  he  was  by  her  side,  his  arms  about  her 
neck. 

"  Don't  cry,  Polly  honey,  I'll  be  back  before  long," 
he  pleaded. 

The  only  answer  was  a  sob : 

"Good-by,  Jeff— " 

Her  hands  slowly  slipped  through  his. 

8 


KIDNAPPED 


"  Good-by,  Polly  — " 

He  watched  her  go  with  quivering  lips,  and  as  the 
little  figure  slowly  faded  into  the  shadows  of  the  woods 
he  called  in  broken  accents: 

"  Kiss  Mamma  for  me  —  and  tell  her  I  wanted  to  go 
back  and  say  good-by  —  but  Joe  wouldn't  let  me !  " 

"  Yes,  honey !  " 

"  And  you  —  watch  out  for  that  old  drunk  man  we 
saw  once  in  the  woods,  Polly !  " 

"  Yes ! " 

"  Don't  let  him  get  you  — " 

"  No  —  I  won't  —  good  —  good-by !  " 

"  Good-by  — " 

The  last  good-by  stuck  in  the  Boy's  throat,  but  he 
lifted  his  blue  eyes,  saw  his  pony  and  smiled  through  the 
tears. 


II 

THE  WILDERNESS 

A  journey  of  a  thousand  miles  through  the  unbroken 
wilderness  —  the  home  of  the  Choctaw  and  Chickasaw 
Indian  Nations  and  all  on  his  own  beautiful  pony !  It 
was  no  time  for  tears. 

The  Boy's  soul  leaped  for  joy. 

The  party  was  a  delightful  one.  Major  Hinds,  a 
veteran  of  General  Jackson's  campaign,  the  commander 
of  the  famous  Mississippi  Dragoons  at  the  battle  of  New 
Orleans,  was  the  leader,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  her 
sister  and  niece,  and  best  of  all  a  boy  his  own  age,  the 
Major's  little  son  Howell. 

Howell  also  was  riding  a  pony.  He  was  a  nice 
enough  pony,  of  course,  as  ponies  went,  but  couldn't 
compare  with  his  own.  He  made  up  his  mind  to  race 

9 


THE  VICTIM 


the  first  chance  they  got,  and  show  those  pretty  white 
heels  to  his  rival.  He  was  just  dying  to  tell  him  how 
fast  they  could  beat  the  ground  —  but  he'd  wait  and 
surprise  the  party. 

A  negro  maid  accompanied  the  ladies  and  a  stalwart 
black  man  rode  a  pack-mule  laden  with  tents,  blankets 
and  a  cooking  outfit.  They  stopped  at  houses  when 
one  could  be  reached  at  nightfall.  If  not,  they  camped 
in  the  woods  beneath  the  towering  trees.  There  was 
no  need  of  the  tents  unless  it  rained.  So  dense  was  the 
foliage  that  only  here  and  there  a  bright  star  peeped 
through,  or  a  moonbeam  shot  its  silvery  thread  to  the 
ground.  The  Indians  were  all  friendly.  It  was  the 
boast  of  the  Choctaws  that  no  man  of  their  breed  had 
ever  shed  the  blood  of  a  white  man. 

For  days  they  followed  the  course  of  the  majestic 
river  rolling  its  yellow  flood  to  the  sea  and  watched 
the  lazy  flat  and  keel  boats  drift  slowly  down  to  New 
Orleans  bearing  the  wealth  of  the  new  Western  World. 
The  men  who  had  manned  these  rude  craft  were  slowly 
tramping  on  foot  back  to  their  homes  in  the  North. 
Their  boats  could  not  stem  the  tide  for  the  return  trip. 
Every  day  they  passed  these  weary  walkers.  The  Boy 
was  sorry  they  couldn't  ride.  His  pony's  step  was  so 
firm  and  quick  and  strong. 

He  raced  with  Howell  the  first  day  and  beat  him  so 
far  there  was  no  fun  in  it.  He  never  challenged  his 
rival  again.  He  was  the  guest  of  Major  Hinds  on  this 
trip.  It  would  be  rude.  But  he  slipped  out  in  the 
dark  that  night,  and  hugged  his  pony : 

"  You're  the  finest  horse  that  ever  was !  "  he  whis 
pered. 

"  Of  course  I  am ! "  the  pony  laughed. 

"  I  love  you  — " 

"  And  I  love  you,"  was  the  quick  response  as  the 
warm  nose  touched  his  cheek. 

10 


THE  WILDERNESS 


In  the  second  week,  they  reached  the  first  stand, 
"  Folsoms',"  on  the  border  of  the  Choctaw  Nation. 
These  stands  were  log  cabins  occupied  by  squaw  men  — 
whites  who  had  married  Indian  women.  They  must 
pass  three  more  of  these  stands  the  Major  said  —  the 
"  Leflores,"  known  as  the  first  and  second  French  camps, 
and  the  one  at  the  crossing  of  the  Tennessee  River, 
which  had  the  unusual  distinction  of  being  kept  by  a 
half-breed  Chickasaw  Indian. 

Here,  weary,  footsore  travelers  stopped  to  rest  and 
refresh  themselves  —  and  many  drooped  and  died  miles 
from  those  they  loved.  The  little  graveyard  with  its 
rude,  wooden-marked  mounds  the  Boy  saw  with  a  dull 
ache  in  his  heart. 

And  then  the  first  bitter  pang  of  homesickness  came. 
He  wondered  if  his  sweet  mother  were  well.  He  won 
dered  what  she  said  when  they  told  her  he  had  gone. 
He  knew  she  had  cried.  What  if  she  were  dead  and 
he  could  never  see  her  again?  He  sat  down  on  a  log, 
buried  his  face  in  his  hands  and  tried  to  cry  the  ache 
out  of  his  heart.  He  felt  that  he  must  turn  back  or 
die.  But  it  wouldn't  do.  He  had  promised  his  Big 
Brother.  He  rose,  brushed  the  tears  away,  fed  and 
watered  his  pony  and  tenderly  rubbed  down  every  inch 
of  his  beautiful  black  skin.  He  forgot  the  ache  in  his 
new-found  love  and  the  strength  which  had  come  into 
his  boy's  soul  from  the  sense  of  kinship  with  Nature 
which  this  beautiful  dumb  four-footed  friend  had 
brought  him.  No  man  could  be  friendless  or  forsaken 
who  possessed  the  love  of  a  horse.  His  horse  knew  and 
loved  him.  He  said  it  in  a  hundred  ways.  His  wide, 
deep,  lustrous  eyes,  shining  with  intelligence,  had  told 
him!  So  had  the  touch  of  his  big  warm  mouth  in 
many  a  friendly  pony  kiss.  His  pony  could  laugh,  too. 
He  had  seen  the  smiles  flicker  about  his  mouth  and  eyes 
as  he  pretended  to  bite  his  bare  legs.  How  could  any 

11 


THE  VICTIM 


human  being  be  cruel  or  mean  to  a  horse  1  His  pony 
had  given  him  new  courage  and  conscious  power.  He 
was  the  master  of  Nature  now  when  they  flew  along  the 
trail  through  the  deep  woods.  His  horse  had  given  him 
wings. 

He  looked  up  into  the  star-sown  sky,  and  promised 
God  to  be  kind  and  gentle  to  all  the  dumb  world  for 
the  love  of  the  beautiful  friend  He  had  given. 


Ill 

THE  HERMITAGE 

At  the  last  stand  on  the  banks  of  the  winding  Ten 
nessee,  the  Major  sat  up  late  in  eager  discussion  about 
Old  Hickory  with  an  enthusiastic  Tennesseean.  The 
ladies  had  retired,  and  the  Boy  listened  with  quiet 
eagerness  to  the  talk. 

"  Waal,  we're  goin'  ter  make  Andrew  Jackson  Presi 
dent  anyhow,  Major!"  the  Tennesseean  drawled. 

"I'm  afraid  they'll  beat  us,"  the  Major  answered, 
with  a  shake  of  his  head. 

"  How'll  they  beat  us  when  we  git  ready  ter  make 
the  fight?" 

"  Old  Hickory  says  himself,  he  ain't  fit  — " 

"  I  reckon  we  know  more  about  that  than  he  does," 
persisted  the  man  from  Tennessee. 

"  The  aristocrats  don't  think  so  — " 

"  What  fell  they  got  agin  him?  Ain't  he  the  big 
gest  man  in  this  country  to-day?  Didn't  he  lick  Spain 
and  England  both  at  Pensacola  and  didn't  he  finish  the 
Red  Coats  at  New  Orleans  — " 

"  They  say  his  education's  poor  — " 

"  He  knowed  enough  to  make  this  country  cock  o' 
the  walk  —  what  more  do  they  want  —  damn  *em !  " 

"  They  say  he  swears  — " 

12 


THE  HERMITAGE 


The  Tennesseean  roared: 

"  Waal,  if  all  the  cussin'  men  vote  fur  him  —  he'll 
sho  be  elected!" 

"The  real  trouble — "  the  Major  said  thoughtfully, 
"  is  what  the  scandal-mongers  keep  saying  about  his 
wife  —» 

"  He's  killed  one  son-of-a-gun  about  that  already, 
an'  they  better  let  him  alone  — " 

"  That's  just  it,  my  friend;  he  killed  that  skunk  in  a 
duel  and  it's  not  the  only  one  he  has  fought  either. 
Old  Hickory's  got  the  temper  of  the  devil." 

"  Waal,  thar  ain't  nothin'  in  them  lies  about  his 
wife  — " 

The  Major  lifted  his  hand  and  moved  closer: 

"  There's  just  enough  truth  at  the  bottom  of  it  all 
to  give  the  liars  the  chance  they  need  to  talk  forever  — " 

"  I  never  knowed  thar  wuz  ary  grain  er  truth  in  hit, 
at  all  — " 

"  There  is,  though,"  the  Major  interrupted,  "  and 
that's  where  we're  going  to  have  a  big  fight  on  our 
hands  when  it  comes  to  the  rub.  This  Lewis  Robards, 
her  first  husband,  was  a  quarrelsome  cuss.  Every  man 
that  looked  at  his  wife,  he  swore  was  after  her,  and  if 
she  lifted  her  eyes,  he  was  sure  she  was  guilty.  There 
was  no  divorce  law  in  Virginia  and  Robards  petitioned 
the  Legislature  to  pass  an  Act  of  Divorce  in  his  favor. 
The  dog  swore  in  this  petition  that  his  wife  had  de 
serted  him  and  was  living  with  Andrew  Jackson.  He 
was  boarding  with  her  mother,  the  widow  Donelson. 
The  Legislature  passed  the  Act,  but  it  only  authorized 
the  Courts  of  the  Territory  of  Kentucky  to  try  the 
case,  and  grant  the  divorce  if  the  facts  were  proven. 

"  Robards  never  went  to  Court  with  it  for  over  two 
years,  and  Jackson,  under  the  impression  that  the 
Legislature  had  given  the  divorce,  married  Rachel  Ro 
bards  at  Natchez  in  August,  1791. 

13 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Two  years  later,  the  skunk  slips  into  Court  and 
gets,  his  divorce ! 

"  As  quick  as  Old  Hickory  heard  this,  he  married  her 
over  again.  There  was  a  mighty  hullabaloo  kicked  up 
about  it  by  the  politicians.  They  tried  to  run  Jackson 
out  of  the  country  —  the  little  pups  who  were  afraid 
of  him.  He  challenged  the  leader  of  this  pack  of 
hounds,  and  shot  him  dead  — " 

"  Served  him  right,  too,"  broke  in  the  Tennesseean, 
removing  his  pipe,  with  a  nod  of  his  shaggy  head. 

"  But  it  don't  help  him  on  the  way  to  Washington !  " 
The  Major  grunted,  suddenly  rising  and  dismissing 
the  subject  for  the  night. 

The  Boy's  curiosity  was  kindled  to  see  the  great  man 
whose  name  had  filled  the  world. 

The  distance  to  Nashville  was  quickly  covered.  The 
Major  pressed  straight  through  the  town  without  pause 
and  drew  rein  at  the  General's  gate. 

The  welcome  they  received  from  their  distinguished 
host  was  so  simple,  so  genuine,  so  real,  the  Boy's  heart 
went  out  in  loyal  admiration. 

The  house  was  a  big  rambling  structure  of  logs,  in 
front  of  which  stood  a  stately  grove  of  magnificent  for 
est  trees.  Behind  it  stretched  the  grain  and  cotton 
fields. 

Nothing  could  surpass  the  unaffected  and  perfect 
courtesy  with  which  the  General  welcomed  his  guests. 
The  tall,  stately  figure,  moving  with  the  unconscious 
grace  of  perfect  manhood,  needed  no  rules  of  a  dancing 
master  for  his  guidance.  He  had  sprung  from  the  com 
mon  people,  but  he  was  a  born  leader  and  ruler  of  men. 
The  Boy  listened  with  keen  ears  to  hear  him  rip 
out  one  of  those  terrible  oaths  of  which  so  much  had 
been  said.  His  speech  was  gentle  and  kind,  and  he 
asked  a  blessing  at  every  meal  exactly  as  his  own  quiet, 
dignified  father  at  home.  In  all  the  three  weeks  they 

14 


THE  HERMITAGE 


remained  his  guests  not  an  oath  or  an  ugly  word  fell 
from  his  lips.  The  Boy  wondered  how  people  could  tell 
such  lies. 

The  General  liked  boys,  too.  It  was  easy  to  see  that. 
He  gave  hours  of  his  time  to  the  games  and  sports  of 
his  adopted  son,  Andrew  Jackson,  Jr.,  and  his  two  lit 
tle  guests.  He  got  up  contests  of  all  sorts.  They 
raced  their  ponies.  They  ran  and  jumped.  They 
played  marbles.  They  followed  the  hounds.  And  al 
ways  with  them  as  friend  and  counselor,  the  General, 
gentle,  kind,  considerate.  The  only  thing  he  prohib 
ited  was  wrestling. 

"  No,  boys,"  he  said  with  a  frown.  "  That's  not  a 
good  sport  for  high  spirited  youth.  To  feel  the  hand 
of  a  rival  on  your  body  may  lead  to  a  fight." 

The  deep  set  eyes  flashed  with  the  memory  of  his  own 
hot  blooded  boyhood  and  young  manhood. 

The  General's  wife  won  the  Boy's  whole  heart  from 
the  moment  he  saw  her. 

"  How  could  they  tell  such  lies ! "  he  kept  repeating 
with  boyish  indignation.  Pure  and  sweet  as  the  face 
of  his  own  mother  was  hers.  Loving,  unselfish,  tender 
and  thoughtful,  she  moved  through  her  house  with  the 
gentle  step  of  a  ministering  angel.  The  knightly  def 
erence  with  which  the  General  attended  her  slightest 
wish,  stirred  the  Boy's  imagination.  He  could  see  him 
standing  erect,  pistol  in  hand,  in  the  gray  dawn  of  the 
morning  on  which  he  faced  the  enemy  who  had  slandered 
her.  He  could  see  the  big  firm  hand  grip  the  pistol's 
handle  in  a  clasp  of  steel  as  he  waited  the  signal  of 
Death.  He  wondered  what  sort  of  wound  Dickenson's 
bullet  had  made  in  the  General's  breast.  Anyhow,  it 
had  not  been  fatal.  His  enemy  lived  but  a  few  hours. 

He  set  his  lips  firmly,  and  repeated  the  Tennesseean's 
verdict : 

"  Served  him  right,  too." 

15 


THE  VICTIM 


The  Boy  left  the  Hermitage  under  the  spell  of  Old 
Hickory's  personality  for  life.     He  had  seen  a  great 


man. 


IV 

THE  MONASTERY  BELLS 

The  journey  from  Nashville  to  Springfield,  Kentucky, 
was  quick  and  uneventful.  Long  before  the  spire  of 
St.  Thomas'  church  loomed  on  the  horizon,  they  passed 
through  the  wide,  fertile  fields  of  the  Dominican  monks. 
The  grim  figure  of  a  black  friar  was  directing  the  har 
vest  of  a  sea  of  golden-yellow  wheat.  His  workmen 
were  sleek  negro  slaves.  Herds  of  fat  cattle  grazed 
on  the  hills.  A  flock  of  a  thousand  sheep  were  nip 
ping  the  fresh  sweet  grass  in  the  valley.  They  passed 
a  big  flour  mill,  whose  lazy  wheel  swung  in  rhythmic  uni 
son  with  the  laughing  waters  of  the  creek  that  watered 
the  rich  valley.  The  monks  were  vowed  to  poverty  and 
self-denial.  But  their  Order  was  rich  in  slaves  and 
land,  in  mills  and  herds  and  flocks  and  generous  har 
vests. 

As  the  sun  sank  in  a  smother  of  purple  and  red  be 
hind  the  hills,  they  saw  the  church  and  monastery.  The 
bells  were  chanting  their  call  to  evening  prayer. 

The  Boy  held  his  breath  in  silent  ecstasy.  He  had 
never  heard  anything  like  it  before.  It  was  wonder 
ful  —  those  sweet  notes  echoing  over  hill  and  valley  in 
the  solemn  hush  of  the  gathering  twilight. 

They  waited  for  the  priests  to  emerge  from  the  chapel 
before  making  their  presence  known.  Through  the  open 
windows  the  deep  solemn  throb  of  the  organ  pealed. 
The  soul  of  the  Boy  rose  enchanted  on  new  wings  whose 
power  he  had  never  dreamed.  Hidden  depths  were 

16 


THE  MONASTERY  BELLS 

sounded  of  whose  existence  he  could  not  know.  There 
was  no  organ  in  the  little  bare  log  church  the  Baptists 
had  built  near  his  father's  farm  in  Mississippi.  His 
father  and  mother  were  Baptists  and  of  course  he  was 
going  to  be  a  Baptist  some  day.  But  why  didn't  they 
have  stained  glass  windows  like  those  through  which 
he  saw  the  light  now  streaming  —  wonderful  flashing 
lights,  whose  colors  seemed  to  pour  from  the  soul  of 
the  organ.  And  why  didn't  they  have  a  great  organ? 

He  was  going  to  like  these  Roman  Catholics.  He 
wondered  what  his  mother  would  say  to  that  ? 

It  all  seemed  so  familiar,  too.  Where  had  he  heard 
those  bells?  Where  had  he  heard  the  peal  of  that  or 
gan  and  seen  the  flash  of  those  gorgeous  lights?  In 
the  sky  at  sunset  perhaps,  and  in  the  rumble  of  the 
storm.  Maybe  in  dreams  —  and  now  they  had  come 
true. 

In  a  few  months,  he  found  himself  the  only  Protestant 
boy  in  school  and  the  smallest  of  all  the  scholars.  The 
monks  were  kind.  They  seemed  somehow  to  love  him 
better  than  the  others.  Father  Wallace  reminded  him 
of  his  big  brother.  He  was  so  gentle. 

The  Boy  made  up  his  mind  to  join  the  Catholic 
Church  and  went  straight  to  Father  Wilson,  the  vener 
able  head  of  the  college. 

The  old  man  smiled  pleasantly: 

"  And  why  do  you  wish  this,  my  son?  " 

"  Oh,  it's  so  much  more  beautiful  than  the  Baptist 
Church.  Besides  it's  so  much  easier — " 

"Indeed?" 

"  Yes,  sir.  The  Baptists  have  such  a  hard  time  get 
ting  religion.  They  s-eek  and  mourn  so  long  — " 

"Really?" 

"  Indeed  they  do  - —  yes,  sir  —  I've  seen  stubborn  sin 
ners   mourn   all   summer  in  three  protracted  meetings 
and  then  not  come  through !  " 
3  17 


THE  VICTIM 


"  And  you  don't  like  that  sort  of  penance  ?  " 

"  No,  sir.  I've  always  dreaded  it.  And  the  worst 
thing  is  the  new  converts  have  to  stand  right  up  in 
church  before  all  the  crowd  and  tell  their  experience 
out  loud.  I'd  hate  that—" 

"  And  you  like  our  ways  better  ?  " 

"  A  great  deal  better.  The  Catholics  manage  things 
so  nicely.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  go  to  church,  learn 
the  catechism  and  the  good  priests  do  all  the  rest  — " 

"Oh—  I  see!" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

Father  Wilson  laid  his  wrinkled  hand  tenderly  on  the 
Boy's  head: 

"  You  are  very,  very  young,  my  son,  and  you  are 
growing  rapidly.  What  you  really  need  is  good  Catho 
lic  food.  Sit  down  and  have  a  piece  of  bread  and  cheese 
with  me." 

The  Boy  sat  down  and  ate  the  offered  bread  and 
cheese  in  silence. 

"I  can't  join,  Father  Wilson?  "  he  asked  at  last. 

The  priest  smiled  again : 

"  No,  my  son." 

"You  don't  like  me,  Father?"  the  boy  asked  wist 
fully. 

"  We  like  you  very  much,  sir.  But  we  are  responsi 
ble  for  the  trust  your  father  and  mother  have  put 
in  us.  In  God's  own  time  when  you  are  older  and  know 
the  full  meaning  of  your  act,  I  should  be  glad  —  but  not 
this  way." 

The  Boy  was  so  small,  in  fact,  that  a  fine  old  priest 
in  pity  for  his  tender  years  had  a  little  bed  put  in  his 
own  room  for  him  to  watch  the  light  and  shadows  in 
eager  young  eyes  when  homesickness  threatened.  And 
then  he  talked  of  the  wonders  and  glory  of  Rome  on  her 
seven  hills  by  the  Tiber,  of  the  Coliseum,  the  death  of 
Christian  martyrs  in  the  arena  —  of  the  splendors  of 

18 


THE  MONASTERY  BELLS 

St.  Peter's,  beside  whose  glory  all  other  churches  pale 
into  insignificance.  He  lifted  the  curtain  of  history 
and  gave  the  child's  mind  flashes  of  the  Old  World  whose 
pageants  stretch  down  the  ages  into  the  mists  of  eter 
nity. 

Of  books,  the  Boy  learned  little  —  but  the  monks  kin 
dled  a  light  in  his  soul  the  years  could  not  dim. 

To  the  other  students  the  old  man  was  not  so  gentle. 
They  were  tougher  and  he  set  their  tasks  accordingly. 
They  rebelled  at  last  and  decided  on  revenge.  The  plot 
was  hatched  and  all  in  readiness  for  its  execution.  The 
only  problem  was  how  to  put  the  light  out  in  his  room. 

The  Boy  held  the  key  to  the  citadel.  He  was  on  the 
inside.  He  could  blow  the  candle  out  and  the  thing  was 
done.  He  refused  at  first,  but  the  rebels  crowded 
around  him  and  appealed  to  his  sense  of  loyalty. 

"  They  can  force  you  to  sleep  in  his  room,"  pleaded 
the  ringleader,  "  but,  by  Gimminy,  that  don't  make  you 
a  monk,  does  it?  " 

"  No,  of  course  not  — " 

"  You're  one  of  us  —  stand  by  us.  You  didn't  ask 
to  sleep  in  his  old  room,  did  you?  " 

"  No." 

"  Well,  you're  there  —  the  right  man  in  the  right 
place,  in  the  nick  of  time.  Will  you  stand  by  us  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  want  me  to  do  ?  " 

"  Just  blow  out  the  candle  —  that's  all  —  we'll  do 
the  rest.  Will  you  do  it?" 

The  Boy  hesitated,  smiled  and  said: 

"  Yes  —  when  everything's  quiet." 

The  old  man  had  gone  to  bed  and  began  to  snore. 
The  Boy  rose  noiselessly  and  blew  the  candle  out. 

Instantly  from  the  darkness  without,  poured  a  vol 
ley  of  cabbage  heads,  squashes,  potatoes  and  biscuits. 
Not  a  word  was  spoken,  but  the  charge  of  the  light 
brigade  was  swift  and  terrible. 

19 


THE  VICTIM 


The  Boy  pulled  the  cover  over  his  head  and  waited  for 
the  storm  to  pass. 

When  the  light  was  lit  and  search  made,  not  a  culprit 
could  be  found.  They  were  all  in  bed  sound  asleep. 
The  only  one  awake  was  the  Boy  in  the  little  bed  on 
which  lay  scattered  potatoes,  biscuits  and  cabbage. 

The  priest  drew  him  from  under  the  cover.  His  face 
was  stern  —  the  firm  mouth  rigid  with  anger. 

"  Did  you  know  they  were  going  to  do  that,  sir?  "  he 
asked. 

The  Boy  trembled  but  held  his  tongue. 

"  Answer  me,  sir !  " 

"  I  didn't  know  just  what  they  were  going  to  do  — " 

"  You  knew  they  were  up  to  something  ?  " 

"  Yes !  " 

"  And  you  didn't  tell  me?  " 

"  No." 

"Why?" 

"  I  couldn't  be  a  traitor,  sir." 

"  To  those  young  rascals  —  no  —  but  you  could  be 
tray  me  — " 

"  I'm  not  a  monk,  Father  — " 

"  Tell  me  what  you  know  at  once,  sir,  before  I  thrash 
you." 

"  I  don't  know  much,"  the  Boy  slowly  answered, 
"  and  I  can't  tell  you  that." 

There  was  a  final  ring  in  the  tones  with  which  he 
ended  the  sentence.  The  culprit  must  be  punished.  It 
was  out  of  the  question  that  he  should  whip  him  —  this 
quiet,  gentle,  bright  little  fellow  he  had  grown  to  love. 
He  was  turned  over  to  another  —  an  old  monk  of  fine 
face  and  voice  full  of  persuasive  music. 

He  took  the  Boy  by  the  hand  and  led  him  up  the  last 
flight  of  stairs  to  the  top  of  the  house  and  into  a  tiny 
bare  room.  The  only  piece  of  furniture  was  an  ominous 
looking  cot  in  the  middle  of  the  floor.  The  Boy  had  not 

20 


THE  MONASTERY  BELLS 

read  the  history  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  but  it  re 
quired  no  great  learning  in  history  or  philosophy  to 
guess  the  use  of  that  machine. 

There  was  no  terror  in  the  blue  eyes.  Their 
light  grew  hard  with  resolution.  The  monk  to  whom 
he  had  been  delivered  for  punishment  was  the  one  of  all 
the  monastery  who  had  the  kindliest,  gentlest  face.  The 
Boy  had  always  thought  him  one  of  his  best  friends. 

Yet,  without  a  word,  he  laid  the  culprit  face  down 
ward  on  the  strange  leather  couch  and  drew  the  straps 
around  his  slim  body.  He  had  dreamed  of  mercy,  but 
all  hope  vanished  now.  He  held  his  breath  and  set  his 
lips  to  receive  the  blow  —  the  first  he  had  ever  felt. 

The  monk  took  the  switch  in  his  hand  and  hesitated. 
He  loved  the  bright,  handsome  lad.  The  task  was 
harder  than  he  thought. 

He  knelt  beside  the  cot  and  put  his  hand  on  the 
dark  little  head : 

"  I  hate  to  strike  you,  my  son  — " 

"  Don't  then,  Father,"  was  the  eager  answer. 

"  I've  always  had  a  very  tender  spot  in  my  heart  for 
you.  Tell  me  what  you  know  and  it'll  be  all  right." 

"  I  can't  — " 

"  No  matter  how  little,  and  I'll  let  you  off." 

"Will  you?" 

"  I  promise." 

"  I  know  one  thing,"  the  Boy  said  with  a  smile. 

"Yes?" 

"  I  know  who  blew  out  the  light." 

"  Good ! " 

"  If  I  tell  you  that  much,  you'll  let  me  off?  * 

"  Yes,  my  son." 

The  little  head  wagged  doubtfully: 

"Honest,  now,  Father?" 

"  I  give  you  my  solemn  word." 

"  I  blew  it  out !  " 

21 


THE  VICTIM 


The  fine  old  face  twitched  with  suppressed  laughter 
as  he  loosed  the  straps,  sat  down  on  the  cot  and  drew 
the  youngster  in  his  lap. 

"  You're  a  bright  chap,  my  son.  You'll  go  far  in 
this  world  some  day.  A  great  diplomat  perhaps,  but 
the  road  you've  started  on  to-night  can  only  lead  you 
at  last  into  a  blind  alley.  You  know  now  that  I  love 
you,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Father." 

"  Come  now,  my  Boy,  there's  too  much  strength  and 
character  in  those  fine  eyes  and  that  splendid  square 
chin  and  jaw  for  you  to  let  roistering  fools  lead  you  by 
the  nose.  You  wouldn't  have  gotten  into  that  devilment 
if  they  hadn't  persuaded  you  —  now  would  you  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  All  right.  Use  the  brain  and  heart  God  has  given 
you.  Don't  let  fools  use  it  for  their"  own  ends.  Do 
your  own  thinking.  Be  your  own  man.  Stand  on 
your  own  bottom." 

And  then,  in  low  tones,  the  fine  old  face  glow 
ing  with  enthusiasm,  the  monk  talked  to  his  little  friend 
of  Truth  and  Right,  of  Character  and  Principle,  of 
Love  and  God,  until  the  tears  began  to  slowly  steal 
down  the  rosy  cheeks. 

A  new  resolution  fixed  itself  in  the  Boy's  soul.  He 
would  live  his  own  life.  No  other  human  being  should 
do  it  for  him. 

V 

HOME 

The  mother's  heart  rebelled  at  last.  She  would  not 
be  put  off  longer.  Her  baby  had  been  gone  two  years. 
She  refused  point  blank  to  listen  to  any  further  argu 
ment. 

22 


HOME 


Charles  Green,  the  young  Mississippian,  studying 
law  in  Kentucky,  and  acting  as  the  Boy's  guardian,  was 
notified  to  bring  him  at  the  end  of  the  spring  term. 

On  a  glorious  day  in  June  they  left  Bardstown  for 
Louisville  to  take  the  new  steamboat  line  for  home. 
These  wonderful  boats  were  the  marvels  of  their  day. 
Their  names  conveyed  but  a  hint  of  the  awe  they  in 
spired.  The  fleet  of  three  vessels  bore  the  titles,  Vol 
cano,  Vesuvius  and  JEtna.  And  the  sparks  that  flew 
heavenward  from  their  black  chimneys  were  far  more 
impressive  to  the  people  who  crowded  the  shores  than 
the  smoke  and  lava  of  old  Vesuvius  to  the  lazy  loungers 
of  Naples. 

The  Boy  saw  his  pony  safely  housed  on  board  the 
dEtna,  and  amid  the  clang  of  bells  and  the  scream  of 
whistles,  the  floating  wonder  swung  out  from  her  wharf 
into  the  yellow  tide  of  the  Ohio. 

Scores  of  people  crowded  her  decks  for  the  pleasure 
of  a  ride  ten  miles  down  the  river  to  return  in  their  car 
riages. 

The  Captain  of  the  JEtna,  Robinson  DeHart,  held 
the  Boy  in  a  spell  by  his  lofty  manners.  He  had  been 
a  sailor  on  board  an  ocean-going  brig.  To  him  the 
landing  of  his  vessel  was  an  event,  no  matter  how  often 
the  stop  was  made,  whether  to  put  off  a  single  pas 
senger,  or  take  on  a  regiment.  In  fact,  he  never  landed 
the  jEtna,  even  to  take  on  a  cord  of  wood,  without  the 
use  of  his  enormous  speaking  trumpet  and  his  big  brass 
spy-glass. 

A  beautiful,  slow,  uneventful  voyage  on  the  Father 
of  Waters  landed  the  Boy  in  safety  at  the  Wood- 
ville  stopping-place.  He  leaped  down  the  gang-plank 
with  a  shout  and  clasped  his  Big  Brother's  hand. 

"  My,  my,  but  you've  grown,  Boy !  " 

"Haven't  I?" 

"  Won't  little  mother  be  surprised  and  glad  ?  " 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Let's  fool  her,"  the  Boy  cried.  "  Let  me  go  up 
by  myself  and  she  won't  know  me  !  " 

"  All  right  —  we'll  try." 

The  brother  stopped  at  the  village  and  the  young 
stranger  walked  alone  to  his  father's  house.  How  beau 
tiful  it  all  seemed  —  the  big  log  house  with  the  cabins 
clustering  around  it  !  A  horse  neighed  at  the  barn  and 
a  colt  answered  from  the  field. 

He  walked  boldly  up  to  the  porch  and  just  inside  the 
door  sat  his  lovely  mother.  She  had  been  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  girls  in  all  South  Carolina  in  her  day, 
his  father  had  often  said.  She  was  beautiful  still.  She 
had  known  what  happiness  was.  She  was  the  mother 
of  ten  strong  children  —  five  boys  and  five  girls  —  and 
her  heart  was  young  with  their  joys  and  hopes.  A 
smile  was  playing  about  her  fine  mouth.  She  was 
dreaming  perhaps  of  his  coming. 

The  Boy  cleared  his  throat  with  a  deep  manly  note 
and  spoke  in  studied  careless  tones: 

"  Seen  any  stray  horses  around  here,  ma'am  ?  " 

The  mother's  eyes  flashed  as  she  sprang  through  the 
doorway  and  snatched  him  to  her  heart  with  a  cry  of 


"  No  —  but  I  see  a  stray  Boy  !  Oh,  my  darling,  my 
baby,  my  heart  !  " 

And  then  words  failed.  She  loosed  her  hold  and  held 
him  at  arm's  length,  tried  to  say  something,  but  only 
clasped  him  again  and  cried  for  joy. 

"  Please,  Ma,  let  me  have  him  !  "  Polly  pleaded. 

And  then  he  clasped  his  sister  in  a  long,  voiceless  hug 
—  loosed  her  and  caught  her  again  : 

"  I  missed  you,  Polly,  dear  !  "  he  sighed. 

When  all  the  others  had  been  greeted,  he  turned  to 
his  mother: 

"Where's  Pa?" 

"  Down  in  the  field  with  the  colts." 


HOME 


"  I'll  go  find  him !  " 

With  a  bound  he  was  off.  He  wondered  what  his 
silent,  undemonstrative  father  would  do.  He  had  al 
ways  felt  that  he  was  a  man  of  deep  emotion  for  all  his 
self-control. 

He  saw  him  in  the  field,  walked  along  the  edge  of  the 
woods,  and  suddenly  came  before  him  without  warning. 
The  father's  lips  trembled.  Pie  stooped  without  a 
word,  clasped  the  Boy  in  his  arms  and  kissed  him  again 
and  again. 

The  youngster  couldn't  help  wondering  why  a  strong 
man  should  kiss  so  big  a  boy.  The  mother  —  yes  — 
but  his  father,  a  man  —  no. 

It  was  sweet,  this  home-coming  to  those  who  loved 
deepest.  Somehow  the  monastery,  its  bells,  its  organ, 
its  jeweled  windows,  and  its  kindly  black-robed  priests 
seemed  far  away  and  unreal  now  —  only  a  dream  that 
had  passed. 


VI 

REBELLION 

The  mother's  breakdown  was  not  allowed  to  stop  the 
Boy's  education.  Both  father  and  older  brother  were 
determined  on  this.  They  would  use  the  schools  at 
home  now. 

He  was  sent  to  the  County  Academy  in  the  fall.  The 
Boy  didn't  like  it.  After  the  easy  life  with  the  kindly 
old  monks  at  St.  Thomas,  this  academy  was  not  only 
cheap  and  coarse  and  uninteresting,  but  the  teacher  had 
no  sense.  He  gave  lessons  so  long  and  hard  it  was  im 
possible  to  memorize  them. 

The  Boy  complained  to  the  teacher.  A  lesson  of  the 
same  length  was  promptly  given  again.  The  rebel 

25 


THE  VICTIM 


showed  the  teacher  he  was  wrong  by  failing  to  know  it. 

"  I'll  thrash  you,  sir !  "  was  the  stern  answer. 

The  Boy  would  not  take  that  from  such  a  fool.  He 
rose  in  his  wrath,  went  home  and  poured  out  the  indig 
nant  story  of  his  wrongs. 

The  father  was  a  man  of  few  words,  but  the  long  si 
lence  which  followed  gave  a  feeling  of  vague  uneasiness. 
He  was  never  dictatorial  to  his  children,  but  meant 
what  he  said.  His  voice  was  quiet  and  persuasive  when 
he  finally  spoke. 

"  Of  course,  my  son,  you  will  have  to  choose  for  your 
self  whether  you  will  work  with  your  hands  only,  or  with 
your  head  and  hands.  You  can't  be  an  idler,  I  need 
more  cotton  pickers.  You  don't  like  school,  try  the 
cotton,  I'll  give  you  work." 

The  Boy  flushed  and  looked  at  his  father  keenly. 
It  was  no  joke.  He  meant  exactly  what  he  had  said, 
and  a  boy  with  any  sand  in  his  gizzard  couldn't  back 
down. 

"  All  right,  sir,"  was  the  firm  answer.  "  I'll  begin  in 
the  morning." 

He  went  forth  to  his  task  with  grim  determination. 
The  sun  of  early  September  had  just  risen  and  it  was 
already  hot  as  he  bent  to  work.  Cotton  picking  looked 
easy  from  a  distance.  When  you  got  at  it,  things  some 
how  were  different.  A  task  of  everlasting  monotony, 
this  bending  from  boll  to  boll  along  the  endless  rows ! 
He  never  realized  before  how  long  the  cotton  rows  were. 
There  was  a  little  stop  at  the  end  before  turning  and 
selecting  the  next,  but  these  rows  seemed  to  stretch 
away  into  eternity. 

Three  hours  at  it,  and  he  was  mortally  tired.  His 
back  ached  in  a  dull  hopeless  pain.  He  lifted  his  head 
and  gazed  longingly  toward  the  school  he  had  scorned. 

"What  a  fool!"  he  sighed.  "But  I'll  stick  to  it. 
I  can  do  what  any  nigger  can." 

26 


REBELLION 


He  looked  curiously  at  the  slaves  who  worked  without 
apparent  effort.  Not  one  of  them  seemed  the  least  bit 
tired.  He  could  get  used  to  it,  too.  After  all,  this 
breath  of  the  open  world  was  better  than  being  cooped 
up  in  a  stuffy  old  schoolhouse  with  a  fool  to  set  impos 
sible  tasks. 

"  Pooh !     I'll  show  my  father  !  "  he  exclaimed. 

The  negroes  broke  into  a  plantation  song.  Jim  Pem- 
berton,  the  leader,  sang  each  stanza  in  a  clear  fine 
tenor  that  rang  over  the  field  and  echoed  through  the 
deep  woods.  The  others  joined  in  the  chorus  and  after 
the  last  verse  repeated  in  low  sweet  notes  that  died 
away  so  softly  it  was  impossible  to  tell  the  moment  the 
song  had  ceased. 

The  music  was  beautiful,  but  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  join  in  their  singing.  He  couldn't  lower  him 
self  to  an  equality  with  black  slaves.  This  cotton  pick 
ing  seemed  part  of  their  scheme  of  life.  Their  strong 
black  bodies  swayed  in  a  sort  of  rhythmic  movement  even 
when  they  were  not  singing.  Somehow  his  body  didn't 
fit  into  the  scheme.  His  back  ached  and  ached.  No 
matter.  He  had  chosen,  and  he  would  show  them  he 
had  a  man's  spirit  inside  a  boy's  breast. 

At  noon  the  ache  had  worn  away  and  he  felt  a  sense 
of  joy  in  conquering  the  pain. 

He  ate  his  dinner  in  silence  and  wondered  what  Polly 
was  thinking  about  at  school.  Girl-like,  she  had  cried 
and  begged  him  to  go  back. 

With  a  cheerful  wave  of  his  hand  to  his  mother,  he 
returned  to  the  field  before  the  negroes,  strapped  the 
bag  on  his  shoulder  and  bent  again  to  his  task.  The 
afternoon  was  long.  It  seemed  at  three  o'clock  there 
could  be  no  end  to  it  and  still  those  long,  long  rows  of 
white  fleece  stretched  on  and  on  into  eternity  —  all 
alike  in  dull,  tiresome  monotony. 

He  whistled  to  keep  up  his  courage. 

27 


THE  VICTIM 


The  negroes  whispered  to  one  another  and  smiled  as 
they  looked  his  way.  He  paid  no  attention. 

By  four  o'clock,  the  weariness  had  become  a  habit 
and  at  sundown  he  felt  stronger  than  at  dawn.  He 
swung  the  bag  over  his  back  and  started  to  the  weighing 
place. 

"  Pooh  —  it's  easy !  "  he  said  with  scorn. 

The  negroes  crowded  around  his  pile  of  cotton. 

"  Dat  Boy  is  sho  one  cotton-picker !  "  cried  Jim  Pem- 
berton,  regarding  him  with  grinning  admiration. 

"  Of  course,  I  can  pick  cotton  if  I  want  to  — " 

"  But  ye  raly  don't  wanter?  "  Jim  grinned. 

"  Sure  I  do.     I'm  sick  of  school." 

Jim  laughed  aloud  and,  coming  close,  whispered  in 
sinuatingly  : 

"  I'se  sho  sick  er  pickin'  cotton,  an'  when  yer  quits  de 
job—" 

"  I'm  not  going  to  quit  — " 

"  Yassah,  yassah  —  I  understan'  dat  —  but  de  pint 
is,  lichen  yer  do  quit,  don't  fergit  Jim,  Marse  Jeff.  I 
likes  you.  You  got  de  spunk.  I  wants  ter  be  yo' 
man." 

The  appeal  touched  the  Boy's  pride.  He  answered 
with  quiet  dignity: 

"  All  right,  James  — " 

Jim  lifted  his  head  and  walled  his  eyes : 

"  Des  listen  at  him  call  me  Jeemes !  I  knows  a  real 
rnarster  when  I  sees  him !  " 

That  night,  the  father  asked  no  questions  and  made 
no  comment  on  the  fact  that  he  had  picked  a  hundred 
and  ten  pounds  of  cotton  —  as  much  as  any  man  in  the 
field.  His  deciding  to  work  with  his  hands  had  ap 
parently  been  accepted  as  final. 

This  thing  of  deciding  life  for  himself  was  a  serious 
business.  It  would  be  very  silly  to  jump  into  a  career 
with  slaves,  coarse  and  degrading,  just  because  a  fool 


REBELLION 


happened  to  be  teaching  at  the  County  Academy.  He 
must  think  this  thing  over.  Tired  as  he  was,  he  lay 
awake  until  eleven  o'clock,  thinking,  thinking  for  him 
self. 

It  was  lonesome  work,  too,  this  thinking  for  himself. 

If  his  father  had  only  done  the  thinking  for  him,  it 
would  have  been  so  much  easier  to  accept  his  decision 
and  then  rebel  if  he  didn't  like  it. 

He  returned  to  the  field  next  morning  with  renewed 
determination.  Through  the  long,  hot,  interminable 
day  he  bent  and  fought  the  battle  in  silence.  His  back 
ached  worse  than  the  first  day.  Every  muscle  in  his 
finely  strung  little  body  was  bruised  and  sore  and  on 
fire. 

He  began  to  ask  if  his  father  were  right.  Wasn't  a 
man  a  double  fool  who  had  brains  and  refused  to  use 
them? 

An  idiot  could  pick  cotton  when  the  bag  was  fastened 
on  his  back.  All  he  needed  was  one  hand.  All  he  had 
to  do  was  to  bend,  hour  after  hour,  day  after  day,  until 
it  became  the  habit  of  life  and  the  ache  stopped. 

He  could  see  this  now,  for  himself.  He  smiled  at  the 
quiet  wisdom  of  his  father.  He  certainly  knew  how  to 
manage  boys.  He  must  acknowledge  that.  He  was 
quiet  and  considerate  about  it,  too.  He  didn't  dictate. 
He  only  suggested  things  for  consideration  and  choice. 
It  was  easy  to  meet  the  views  of  that  kind  of  a  father. 
He  treated  a  boy  with  the  dignity  of  a  man. 

When  the  cotton  was  weighed,  the  Boy  faced  his  fa 
ther: 

"  I've  thought  it  all  over,  sir,  and  I'd  like  to  go  back 
to  school." 

"  All  right,  my  son,  you  can  return  in  the  morn- 
ing." 

He  made  no  comment.  He  indulged  in  no  smile  at  the 
Boy's  expense.  He  received  his  decision  with  the  seri- 


THE  VICTIM 


ous  dignity  of  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Life. 

The  rebellion  ended  for  all  time.  Teachers  and 
schools  took  on  a  new  meaning.  A  lesson  was  no  longer 
a  hard  task  set  by  a  heartless  fool  who  had  been  acci 
dentally  placed  in  a  position  of  power.  School  meant 
the  training  of  his  mind  for  a  higher  and  more  useful 
life. 

Progress  now  was  steady.  The  next  year  a  new 
teacher  came,  a  real  teacher,  the  Rev.  John  Shaw  from 
Boston,  Massachusetts  —  a  man  of  even  temper,  just, 
gentle,  a  profound  scholar  with  a  mind  whose  conta 
gious  enthusiasm  drew  the  spirits  of  the  young  as  a 
magnet. 

The  Boy  learned  more  under  his  guidance  within  a 
year  than  in  all  his  life  before,  and  next  fall  was  ready 
to  enter  Transylvania  University  at  Lexington,  Ken 
tucky. 

The  polite,  handsome  boy  from  Mississippi  who  had 
served  an  apprenticeship  with  his  father's  negroes  in  a 
cotton  field,  gave  the  professors  no  trouble.  Good-na 
tured,  prudent,  joyous,  kind,  manly,  he  attended  to  his 
lessons  and  his  own  business.  He  neither  gambled  nor 
drank,  nor  mingled  with  the  rowdy  set.  He  had  come 
there  for  something  else. 

He  had  just  passed  his  examinations  for  the  Senior 
class  in  July,  1824,  when  the  first  great  sorrow  came. 
The  wise  father  whom  he  had  grown  to  love  and  rever 
ence  died  in  his  sixty-eighth  year. 

His  thoughtful  Big  Brother  came  in  person  to  tell 
him  and  break  the  blow  with  new  ambitions  and  new 
hopes.  He  had  secured  an  appointment  from  President 
Monroe  as  a  cadet  to  West  Point  from  the  State  of  Mis 
sissippi. 

And  then  began  the  four  years  of  stern  discipline 
that  makes  a  soldier  and  fits  him  to  command  men. 

But  once  in  those  busy  years  did  the  gay  spirit  within 

30 


REBELLION 


rise  in  rebellion,  to  learn  wisdom  in  the  bitterness  of 
experience. 

With  Emile  Laserre,  his  jolly  Creole  friend  from 
Louisiana,  he  slipped  down  to  Bennie  Haven's  on  a  frolic 
—  taking  French  leave,  of  course.  The  alarm  was  given 
of  the  approach  of  an  instructor,  and  the  two  culprits 
bolted  for  the  barracks  at  breakneck  speed  through 
pitch  darkness.  Scrambling  madly  through  the  woods, 
there  was  a  sudden  cry,  a  crash  and  silence.  He  had 
fallen  sixty  feet  over  a  precipice  to  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson.  Young  Laserre  crawled  carefully  to  the  edge 
of  the  rock,  peered  over  and  called  through  the  dark 
ness: 

"Are  you  dead,  Jeff?  " 

He  was  suffering  too  much  to  laugh,  though  he  deter 
mined  to  give  an  Irishman's  reply  to  that  question, 
if  it  killed  him.  He  managed  to  wheeze  back  the  an 
swer: 

"  Not  dead  —  but  spachless !  " 

Many  were  the  temptations  of  rebellion  from  the 
friends  he  loved  in  the  years  that  followed,  but  never 
again  did  he  yield.  Somehow  the  thing  didn't  work  in 
his  case. 

There  was  one  professor  who  put  his  decision  of  obe 
dience  to  the  supreme  test.  For  some  reason  this  par 
ticular  instructor  took  a  violent  dislike  to  the  tall,  digni 
fied  young  Southerner.  Perhaps  because  he  was  more 
anxious  to  have  the  love  of  his  cadet  friends  than  the 
approval  of  his  teachers.  Perhaps  from  some  hidden 
spring  of  character  within  the  teacher  which  antago 
nized  the  firm  will  and  strong  personality  of  the  student 
who  dared  to  do  his  own  thinking.  From  whatever 
cause,  it  was  plain  to  all  that  the  professor  sought  op 
portunities  to  insult  and  browbeat  the  cadet  he  could 
not  provoke  into  open  rebellion. 

The  professor  was  lecturing  the  class  on  presence  of 

31 


THE  VICTIM 


mind  as  the  supreme  requisite  of  a  successful  soldier. 
He  paused,  and  looked  directly  at  his  young  enemy : 

"  Of  course,  there  are  some  who  will  always  be  con 
fused  and  wanting  in  an  emergency  —  not  from  cow 
ardice,  but  from  the  mediocre  nature  of  their  minds." 

The  insult  was  direct  and  intended.  He  hoped  to 
provoke  an  outburst  which  would  bring  punishment,  if 
not  disgrace. 

The  cadet's  lips  merely  tightened  and  the  steel  from 
the  depths  of  his  blue  eyes  flashed  into  his  enemy's  for  a 
moment.  He  would  bide  his  time. 

Three  days  later,  in  a  building  crowded  with  students, 
the  professor  was  teaching  the  class  the  process  of  mak 
ing  fire-balls. 

The  room  was  a  storehouse  of  explosives  and  the 
ball  suddenly  burst  into  flames. 

Cadet  Davis  saw  it  first  and  calmly  turned  to  his  tor 
mentor  : 

"  The  fireball  has  ignited,  sir, —  what  shall  I  do?  " 

The  professor  dashed  for  the  door : 

"  Run !     Run  for  your  lives  !  " 

The  cadet  snatched  the  fire-ball  from  the  floor,  dashed 
it  through  the  window  and  calmly  walked  out. 

He  had  saved  many  lives  and  the  building  from  de 
struction.  His  revenge  was  complete  and  sweet.  But 
deeper  and  sweeter  than  his  triumph  over  an  enemy  was 
the  consciousness  that  he  was  master  of  himself.  He 
had  learned  life's  profoundest  lesson. 


VII 

LIFE 

On  his  graduation,  the  Second  Lieutenant  of  Infan 
try,  from  the  State  of  Mississippi,  barely  twenty  years 

32 


LIFE 

old,  reported  for  duty  to  the  Jefferson  Barracks  at  St. 
Louis. 

He  was  ordered  to  the  frontier  to  extend  the  bounda 
ries  of  the  growing  Republic  —  now  accompanied  by 
his  faithful  body  servant,  James  Pemberton. 

The  Fort,  situated  on  the  Wisconsin  River,  was  the 
northern  limit  of  the  Illinois  tribe  of  Indians,  and  the 
starting  point  of  all  raids  against  the  Iroquois  who  still 
held  the  rich  lands  around  the  village  of  Chicago. 

The  Boy  Lieutenant  was  the  first  lumberman  to  put 
axe  into  the  virgin  forests  of  Wisconsin.  He  was  sent 
into  the  wilderness  with  a  detachment  for  cutting  timber 
to  enlarge  the  Fort. 

Under  the  direction  of  two  voyageurs  he  embarked  in 
a  little  open  boat  and  began  the  perilous  journey. 

The  first  day  out  his  courage  and  presence  of  mind 
were  put  to  quick  test. 

The  Indians  suddenly  appeared  on  the  shore  and  de 
manded  a  trade  for  tobacco.  The  little  party  rowed 
to  the  bank  and  began  to  parley.  A  guide's  keen  eyes 
saw  through  their  smooth  palaver  the  hostile  purpose  of 
a  bloody  surprise  and  warned  the  commander.  The 
order  to  push  into  the  river  and  pull  for  their  lives  was 
instantly  given. 

With  savage  yells  the  Indians  sprang  into  their 
canoes  and  gave  chase. 

It  was  ten  to  one  and  they  were  sure  of  their  prey. 
The  chance  of  escape  from  such  strong,  swift  rowers 
in  light  bark  canoes  was  slight.  The  low  fierce  cries  of 
victory  and  the  joyous  shout  of  coming  torture  rang 
over  the  waters. 

The  Indians  gained  rapidly. 

The  young  Lieutenant's  eye  measured  the  distance 

between  them   and   saw  the  race  was  hopeless.     With 

quick  command  he  ordered  a  huge  blanket  stretched  in 

the  bow  for  a  sail.     The  wind  was  blowing  a  furious  gale 

4  33 


THE  VICTIM 


and  might  swamp  their  tiny  craft.  It  was  drowning  or 
death  by  torture.  The  commander's  choice  was  instan 
taneous. 

The  frail  boat  plunged  suddenly  forward,  swayed  and 
surged  from  side  to  side  through  the  angry,  swirling 
waters,  settled  at  last,  and  drew  steadily  away  from  the 
maddened  savages. 

With  a  curious  smile,  the  boyish  commander  stood  in 
the  stern  and  watched  the  black  swarm  of  yelling  devils 
fade  in  the  distance. 

He  was  thinking  of  his  old  professor  at  West  Point. 
His  insult  had  been  the  one  thing  in  life  to  which  he 
owed  most.  He  could  see  that  clearly  now.  His  heart 
went  out  in  a  wave  of  gratitude  to  his  enemy.  Our 
enemies  are  always  our  best  friends  when  we  have  eyes 
to  see. 

The  winter  following  he  was  ordered  down  to  Winne- 
bago. 

The  village  of  Chicago  was  the  nearest  center  of  civ 
ilization.  The  only  way  of  reaching  it  was  by  wagon, 
and  the  journey  consumed  three  months. 

There  was  much  gambling  in  the  long  still  nights,  and 
some  drinking.  In  lieu  of  the  excitement  of  the  gaming 
table,  he  took  his  fun  in  breaking  and  riding  wild  horses, 
and  hairbreadth  escapes  were  the  order  of  his  daily  ex 
ercise.  It  was  gambling,  perhaps,  but  it  developed  the 
muscles  of  mind  and  body. 

His  success  with  horses  was  remarkable.  No  ani 
mal  that  man  has  broken  to  his  use  is  keener  to  recog 
nize  a  master  and  flout  a  coward  than  the  horse.  No 
coward  has  ever  been  able  to  do  anything  with  a  spirited 
horse. 

He  was  wrestling  one  day  with  a  particularly  vicious 
specimen,  to  the  terror  and  anguish  of  Jim  Pemberton. 

"  For  de  Lawd's  sake,  Marse  Jeff,-  let  dat  debbil  go !  " 

"  No,  James,  not  yet  — " 

34 


LIFE 


"  He  ain't  no  count,  no  how  — " 

"  All  the  more  reason  why  I  should  be  his  master,  not 
he  be  mine." 

The  horse  was  possessed  of  seven  devils.  He  jumped 
and  plunged  and  bucked,  wheeled  and  reared  and 
walked  on  his  hind  legs  in  mad  effort  to  throw  his 
cool  rider.  The  moment  he  reared,  the  Lieutenant 
dropped  his  feet  from  the  stirrups  and  leaned  close  to 
the  brute's  trembling,  angry  head.  At  last  in  one  su 
preme  effort  the  beast  threw  himself  straight  into  the 
air  and  fell  backwards,  with  the  savage  purpose  of 
crushing  his  tormentor  beneath  his  body. 

With  a  quiet  laugh,  the  young  officer  slipped  from  the 
saddle  and  allowed  him  to  thump  himself  a  crashing 
blow.  As  the  horse  sprang  to  his  feet  to  run,  the  Lieu 
tenant  leaped  lightly  into  the  saddle  and  the  fight  was 
over. 

"  Well,  for  de  Lawd,  did  ye  ebber  see  de  beat  er 
dat !  "  Jim  Pemberton  cried  with  laughing  admiration. 

Scarcely  a  week  passed  without  its  dangerous  ex 
cursions  against  the  Pawnees,  Comanches  and  other  hos 
tile  tribes  of  Indians.  The  friendly  tribes,  too,  were 
everlastingly  changing  to  hostiles  in  a  night.  Death 
rode  in  the  saddle  with  every  man  who  left  a  fortified 
post  in  these  early  days  of  our  national  life. 

The  Lieutenant  was  ordered  on  a  peculiarly  long  and 
daring  raid  into  hostile  territory,  and  twice  barely  es 
caped  a  massacre.  Their  errand  accomplished,  and 
leisurely  returning  to  the  Fort,  they  suddenly  met  a 
large  party  of  Indians. 

The  Lieutenant  shot  a  swift  glance  at  their  leader  and 
saluted  him  with  friendly  uplifted  hand : 

"  Can  you  tell  us  the  way  to  the  Fort,  Chief?  " 

The  tall  brave  placed  himself  squarely  in  the  path 
and  pointed  in  the  wrong  direction. 

Instantly  the  Lieutenant  spurred  his  horse  squarely 

35 


THE  VICTIM 


on  the  savage,  grasped  him  by  the  hair,  dragged  him  a 
hundred  yards  and  flung  him  into  the  bushes.  The  as 
sault  was  so  sudden,  so  unexpected,  so  daring,  the  whole 
band  was  completely  cowed,  and  the  soldiers  rode  by 
without  attack. 

Nor  was  the  Indian  the  only  enemy  to  test  the  young 
ster's  mettle.  The  pioneer  soldiers  of  the  rank  and  file 
in  these  turbulent  days  had  minds  of  their  own  which 
they  sometimes  dared  to  use. 

The  Lieutenant  had  no  beard.  His  smooth,  hand 
some  face,  clear  blue  eyes,  fresh  color  and  gay  laughter, 
gave  the  impression  of  a  boy  of  nineteen,  when  by  the 
calendar  he  could  boast  of  twenty-one. 

A  big  strapping,  bearded  soldier,  employed  in  build 
ing  the  Fort,  had  proven  himself  the  terror  of  his  fellow 
workmen.  He  was  a  man  of  enormous  strength  and 
gave  full  rein  to  an  ugly,  quarrelsome  disposition. 

His  eyes  rested  with  decided  disapproval  on  the  grace 
ful  young  master  of  horses. 

"  I'll  whip  that  baby-faced  Lieutenant,"  he  coolly 
announced  to  his  satellites,  "  if  ever  he  opens  his  jaw  to 
me  —  watch  me  if  I  don't.  What  does  he  know  about 
work?" 

The  men  reported  the  threat  to  the  Lieutenant.  The 
next  day  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  in  quiet  tones, 
he  gave  his  first  order  to  the  giant : 

"  Put  that  piece  of  dressed  scantling  beside  the  win 
dow  — " 

The  man  deliberately  lifted  a  rough  board  and  placed 
it. 

"  The  rough  board  won't  do,"  said  the  even  voice. 
"  It  must  be  a  dressed  scantling." 

The  soldier  threw  him  an  insolent  laugh,  and  stooped 
to  take  up  a  board  exactly  like  the  one  he  had  laid 
down. 

The  baby-faced  Lieutenant  suddenly  seized  a  club, 

36 


LIFE 

knocked  him  down,  and  beat  him  until  he  yelled  for 
quarter. 

The  soldiers  had  watched  the  clash  at  first  with  grins 
and  winks  and  nudges,  betting  on  their  giant.  His 
strength  was  invincible.  When  the  unexpected  hap 
pened,  and  they  saw  the  slender,  plucky  youngster 
standing  over  the  form  of  the  fallen  brave,  they  raised 
a  lusty  shout  for  him. 

When  the  giant  scrambled  to  his  feet,  the  victor  said 
with  a  smile: 

"  This  has  been  a  fight,  man  to  man,  and  I'm  satis 
fied.  I'll  not  report  it  officially." 

The  big  one  grinned  sheepishly  and  respectfully  of 
fered  his  hand: 

"  You're  all  right,  Lieutenant.  I  made  a  mistake. 
I  beg  your  pardon.  You're  the  kind  of  a  commander 
I've  always  liked." 

Again  the  soldiers  gave  a  shout.  No  man  under  him 
ever  again  presumed  on  his  beardless  face.  He  had  only 
to  make  his  orders  known  to  have  them  instantly  obeyed. 

Jim  Pemberton  had  watched  the  little  drama  of  offi 
cer  and  man  with  an  ugly  light  gleaming  in  his  eyes. 
The  young  master  had  not  seen  him.  That  night  in  his 
quarters  Jim  quietly  said : 

"  I'd  a  killed  him  ef  he'd  a  laid  his  big  claws  on  you, 
Marse  Jeff." 

"Would  you,  James?" 

"  Dat  I  would,  sah." 

Nothing  more  was  said.  But  a  new  bond  was  sealed 
between  master  and  man. 

While  at  Fort  Crawford,  the  Lieutenant  had  been  or 
dered  up  the  Yellow  River  to  build  a  saw  mill.  He  had 
handled  the  neighboring  Indians  with  such  friendly  skill 
and  won  their  good  will  so  completely,  he  was  adopted 
by  their  chief  as  a  brother  of  the  tribe.  An  old  Indian 
woman  bent  with  age  traveled  a  hundred  miles  to  the 

37 


THE  VICTIM 


Fort  to  warn  the  "  Little  Chief  "  of  a  coming  attack  of 
hostile  bands.  Her  warning  was  unheeded  by  the  new 
commander  and  a  massacre  followed. 

The  success  of  this  attack  raised  the  war  spirit  of  the 
entire  frontier  and  gave  the  soldiers  a  winter  of  excep 
tional  danger  and  hardship.  The  country  in  every  di 
rection  swarmed  with  red  warriors  on  the  warpath. 
The  weather  was  intensely  cold,  and  his  Southern 
blood  suffered  agonies  unknown  to  his  companions. 
Often  wet  to  the  skin  and  compelled  to  remain  in  the 
saddle,  the  exposure  at  last  brought  on  pneumonia. 
For  months  he  lay  in  his  bed,  directing,  as  best  he  could, 
the  work  of  his  men. 

James  Pemberton  lifted  his  weak,  emaciated  form  in 
his  arms  as  if  he  were  a  child.  The  black  man  carried 
his  money,  his  sword  and  pistols.  At  any  moment,  day 
or  night,  he  could  have  stepped  from  the  door  into  the 
wilderness  and  been  free.  He  was  free.  He  loved  the 
man  he  served.  With  tireless  patience  and  tenderness, 
he  nursed  him  back  from  the  shadows  of  death  into  life 
again. 

On  recovering  from  this  illness,  the  Lieutenant  faced 
a  new  commander  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  —  a  man 
destined  to  set  in  motion  the  greatest  event  of  his  life. 

Colonel  Zachary  Taylor  had  been  promoted  to  the 
command  of  the  First  Infantry  on  the  death  of  Colonel 
Morgan.  Already  he  had  earned  the  title  that  would 
become  the  slogan  of  his  followers  in  the  campaign  which 
made  him  President.  "  Old  Rough  and  Ready  "  at  this 
time  was  in  the  prime  of  his  vigorous  manhood. 

Colonel  Taylor  sent  the  Lieutenant  on  an  ugly,  im 
portant  mission. 

Four  hundred  pioneers  had  taken  possession  of  the 
lead  mines  at  Dubuque  against  the  protest  of  the  Indians 
whose  rights  had  been  ignored.  The  Lieutenant  and 
fifty  men  were  commissioned  to  eject  the  miners.  To  a 

38 


LIFE 

man,  they  were  heavily  armed.  They  believed  they  were 
being  cheated  of  their  rights  of  discovery  by  the  red 
tape  of  governmental  interference.  They  had  sworn  to 
resist  any  effort  to  drive  them  out  of  these  mines.  Most 
of  them  were  men  of  the  higher  types  of  Western  adven 
turers.  The  Lieutenant  liked  these  hardy  sons  of  his 
own  race,  and  determined  not  to  use  force  against  them 
if  it  could  be  avoided. 

He  crossed  the  river  to  announce  his  official  instruc 
tions,  and  was  met  by  a  squad  of  daring,  resolute  fel 
lows,  armed  and  ready  for  a  fight. 

Their  leader,  a  tall,  red-headed,  serious-looking  man, 
opened  the  conference  with  scant  ceremony.  Looking 
the  youthful  officer  squarely  in  the  eye,  he  slowly 
drawled : 

"  Young  man,  we  have  defied  the  gov'ment  once  befo' 
when  they  sent  their  boys  up  here  to  steal  our  mines. 
Now,  ef  yer  know  when  yer  well  off,  you'll  let  honest 
white  men  alone  and  quit  sidin'  with  Injuns  — " 

There  was  no  mistaking  his  accent.     He  meant  war. 

The  Lieutenant's  answer  came  in  quick,  even  tones : 

"  The  United  States  Government  has  ordered  your 
removal,  gentlemen.  My  business  as  a  soldier  is  to 
obey.  I  shall  be  sorry  to  use  force.  But  I'll  do 
it,  if  it's  necessary.  I  suggest  a  private  interview 
with  your  leader — "  he  nodded  to  the  red-headed 
man. 

"Sure!" 

"Talk  it  over!" 

"  All  right." 

The  men  from  all  sides  gave  their  approval.  The 
leader  hesitated  a  moment,  and  measured  the  tall, 
straight  young  officer.  He  didn't  like  this  wrestle  at 
close  quarters  with  those  penetrating  eyes  and  the 
trained  mind  behind  them.  But  with  a  toss  of  his  red 
locks  he  muttered : 

39 


THE  VICTIM 


"  All  right,  fire  away  —  you  can  talk  your  head  off, 
for  all  the  good  it'll  do  ye." 

They  walked  off  together  a  few  yards  and  sat 
down. 

With  the  friendliest  smile  the  Lieutenant  extended  his 
hand: 

"  Before  we  begin  our  chat,  let's  shake  hands  ?  " 

"  Certain  —  shore  — " 

The  brawny  hand  clasped  his. 

"  I  want  you  to  know,"  the  young  officer  continued 
earnestly,  "  my  real  feelings  toward  you  and  your  men. 
I've  been  out  here  four  years  with  you  fellows,  pushing 
the  flag  into  the  wilderness,  and  the  more  I  see  of  you 
the  better  I  like  you.  I  know  real  men  when  I 
see  them.  You're  strong,  generous,  brave,  and  you 
do  things.  You're  building  a  great  republic  on 
this  frontier  of  the  world.  I've  known  your  hospi 
tality.  You've  had  little  education  in  the  schools,  but 
you're  trained  for  this  big  work  in  the  only  school  that 
counts  out  here  —  the  School  of  Danger  and  Struggle 
and  Experience  — " 

The  brawny  hand  was  lifted  in  a  helpless  sort  of  pro 
test: 

"  Look  a  here,  Boy,  you're  goin'  ter  bamboozle  me,  I 
kin  jist  feel  it  in  my  bones  — " 

"  On  the  other  hand,"  the  Lieutenant  continued  ea 
gerly,  "  I  assure  you  I  am  going  to  treat  you  and  your 
friends  with  the  profoundest  respect.  It's  due  you. 
Let's  reason  this  thing  out.  You've  taken  up  these 
mines  under  the  old  right  of  first  discovery  — " 

4  Yes,  and  they're  ours,  too," — the  lean  jaws  came 
together  with  a  snap. 

"  So  I  say.  But  it  will  take  a  little  time  and  a  little 
patience  to  establish  your  claims.  The  Indian,  you 
know,  holds  the  first  rights  to  this  land  — " 

"Tell  with  Injuns!" 

40 


LIFE 


"  Even  so,  isn't  it  better  to  first  settle  their  claims  and 
avoid  war?  " 

"Mebbe  so." 

"  And  you  know  we  can't  settle  with  the  Indians  while 
you  hold  by  force  the  mines  they  claim  as  the  owners  of 
the  soil  — " 

The  leader  scratched  his  head  and  rose  with  sudden 
resolution : 

"  Come  on,  and  tell  this  to  the  boys." 

The  leader  escorted  the  Lieutenant  to  the  crowd,  and 
commanded  them  to  hear  him.  His  speech  was  inter 
rupted  at  first  by  angry  exclamations,  but  at  its  close 
there  was  respectful  silence.  The  fight  was  won  with 
out  a  blow. 

The  new  Colonel  was  much  pleased  at  the  successful 
ending  of  the  dangerous  job.  He  had  received  the  or 
ders  to  eject  these  miners  with  a  wry  face.  That  the 
work  had  been  done  without  bloodshed  had  lifted  a  load 
from  his  mind. 

The  Lieutenant  was  honored  on  the  night  of  his  re 
turn  by  an  invitation  to  dine  with  Colonel  Taylor's  fam 
ily.  They  had  been  settled  in  the  crowded  quarters 
of  the  Fort  during  his  absence  —  the  wife,  three  daugh 
ters  and  a  little  son. 

The  Lieutenant's  curiosity  was  but  mildly  roused  at 
the  thought  of  meeting  the  girls.  In  the  lofty  ways  of 
youth,  he  had  put  marriage  out  of  his  mind.  A  soldier 
should  not  marry.  He  had  given  his  whole  soul  to  his 
country,  its  flag  and  its  service.  He  would  be  agreeable 
to  the  ladies,  of  course,  in  deference  to  his  commander 
and  the  honor  he  was  receiving  at  his  hands. 

The  dinner  was  a  success.  The  mother  was  charming 
and  gracious  in  her  welcome.  Something  in  her  ways 
recalled  his  own  mother. 

She  extended  her  hand  with  a  genial  smile,  and  took 
his  breath  with  her  first  remark: 

41 


THE  VICTIM 


"  I've  quite  fallen  in  love  with  you,  sir,  because  of  a 
story  I  heard  of  your  West  Point  career  — ' 

"  Not  in  pity  for  my  fall  over  the  cliff,  I  hope,"  he 
answered  gravely. 

The  mother's  voice  dropped  to  a  whisper : 

"  No, —  your  friend  Albert  Sydney  Johnston  told  me 
that  you  saved  a  large  part  of  your  allowance  and  sent 
it  home  to  your  mother  — " 

The  young  officer's  lips  trembled,  and  he  looked  away 
for  a  moment : 

"  But  she  sent  it  back  to  me,  madam." 

"  Yes,  until  you  wrote  that  she  hurt  you  by  not  keep 
ing  it  — " 

To  relieve  his  evident  embarrassment,  the  mother  in 
troduced  him  in  rapid  succession  to  her  daughters,  the 
eldest  Anne,  the  second  Sarah  Knox,  the  youngest  Eliz 
abeth.  Richard,  the  handsome  little  boy,  had  intro 
duced  himself.  He  had  liked  the  Lieutenant  from  the 
first. 

He  had  been  so  surprised  by  the  mother's  possession 
of  one  of  the  sweetest  secrets  of  his  schoolboy  life,  and 
had  blushed  so  furiously  over  it,  he  had  scarcely  noticed 
the  girls,  merely  bowing  in  his  confusion. 

It  was  not  until  they  were  seated  at  the  table  and 
the  dinner  had  fairly  begun,  that  he  became  conscious 
of  the  charm  of  the  second  daughter,  who  sat  directly 
opposite. 

Her  beauty  was  not  dazzling,  but  in  fifteen  minutes 
she  had  completely  absorbed  his  attention.  It  was  im 
possible,  of  course,  not  to  look  at  her.  She  sat  squarely 
before  him.  There  was  no  embarrassment  in  the  frank, 
honest  curiosity  with  which  she  returned  his  gaze. 

The  thing  that  first  impressed  him  was  the  frank 
ness  of  a  winsome  personality.  He  listened  with 
keen  attention  to  her  voice.  There  was  no  simper, 
no  affectation,  no  posing.  She  was  just  herself.  He 

42 


LIFE 

found  himself  analyzing  her  character.  Refined  —  yes. 
Intelligent  —  beyond  a  doubt.  She  talked  with  her  fa 
ther  in  a  quiet,  authoritative  way  which  left  no  doubt 
on  that  score.  Graceful,  tender,  sincere,  too  —  her 
tones  to  her  impulsive  brother  and  her  younger  sister 
proved  that.  And  a  will  of  her  own  she  had.  The 
firmly  set,  full  lips  were  eloquent  of  character.  He  liked 
that  above  all  things  in  a  woman.  He  couldn't  stand  a 
simpering  doll. 

"  Sing  for  us,  Sarah !  "  her  brother  said  impulsively, 
as  they  rose  from  the  table. 

"  Certainly,  Dick,  if  you  wish  it." 

There  was  no  holding  back  for  urging.  No  mock 
.  modesty.  No  foolishness  in  her  answer.  It  was 
straight,  affectionate,  responsive,  open  hearted,  gener 
ous —  just  like  his  own  sweet  little  sister  Polly  when 
he  had  asked  of  her  a  favor. 

And  then,  he  blushed  to  find  himself  staring  at  her 
in  a  sort  of  dreamy  reverie.  He  hoped  her  music  would 
not  spoil  the  impression  her  personality  had  made. 
This  had  happened  once  in  his  life.  He  could  never  talk 
to  the  girl  again,  after  he  had  heard  her  sing.  The 
memory  of  it  was  a  nightmare. 

He  watched  her  tune  the  guitar  with  a  sense  of  silly 
dread.  The  tuning  finished,  she  turned  to  her  brother 
and  asked  with  a  smile : 

"  And  what  shall  I  sing,  Sir  Richard?  " 

"  The  one  I  love  best  —  «  Fairy  Bells.'  " 

When  the  first  line  with  its  sweet  accompaniment 
floated  out  from  the  porch  on  the  balmy  air  of  the  June 
evening,  the  Lieutenant's  fears  had  vanished.  Never 
had  he  heard  a  song  whose  trembling  melody  so  found 
his  inmost  soul.  It  set  the  Fairy  Bells  ringing  in  the 
deep  woods  of  his  far-away  Mississippi  home.  He  could 
see  the  fairy  ringing  them  —  her  beautiful  hair  stream 
ing  in  the  moonlight,  a  smile  on  her  lips,  the  joy  and 

43 


THE  VICTIM 


beauty  of  eternal  youth  in  every  movement  of  her  ex 
quisite  form. 

When  the  last  note  had  died  softly  away,  he  leaned 
close  and  before  he  knew  what  he  was  doing,  whispered : 

"  Glorious,  Miss  Sarah !  " 

"  You  like  it  very  much?  "  she  asked. 

"  It's  divine." 

"  My  favorite,  too." 

All  night  the  "  Fairy  Bells  "  rang  in  his  heart.  For 
the  first  time  in  life,  he  failed  to  sleep.  He  listened  en 
tranced  until  dawn. 


VIII 

LOVE 

In  the  swift  weeks  which  followed,  life  blossomed  with 
new  and  wonderful  meaning. 

In  the  stern  years  on  the  plains,  the  young  officer  had 
known  but  one  motive  of  action  —  duty.  He  was  an  ex 
ile  from  home  and  its  comforts,  friends  and  the  haunts 
of  civilized  man  for  his  country's  sake.  He  had  come 
to  plant  her  flag  on  the  farthest  frontier  and  push  it 
farther  against  all  corners. 

In  the  struggle  against  the  snows  of  winter  and  the 
pestilence  of  the  summer  wilderness,  he  had  fought  Na 
ture  with  the  dogged  determination  of  the  soldier.  Snow 
meant  winter  quarters,  the  spring  marching  and 
fighting.  The  hills  were  breastworks.  The  night 
brought  dreams  of  strategy  and  surprise.  The  grass 
and  flowers  were  symbols  of  a  nation's  wealth  and  the 
prophecy  of  war. 

By  a  strange  magic,  the  coming  of  a  girl  had 
transformed  the  world.  He  had  seen  the  strategic  value 
of  these  hills  and  valleys  often  before.  He  had  not 

44 


LOVE 


dreamed  of  their  beauty.  The  mists  that  hung  over 
the  ragged  lines  of  the  western  horizon  were  no  longer 
fogs  that  might  conceal  an  army.  They  were  the  folds 
of  a  huge  veil  which  Nature  was  softly  drawing  over 
the  face  of  a  beautiful  bride.  Why  had  he  not  seen 
this  before? 

The  awful  silence  of  the  plains  from  which  he  had  fled 
to  books  had  suddenly  become  God's  great  whisper 
ing  gallery.  He  listened  with  joyous  awe  and  rever 
ence. 

The  stars  had  been  his  guides  by  night  to  find  the 
trail.  He  had  merely  lifted  his  eyes  to  make  the  reck 
oning.  He  had  never  seen  before  the  crystal  flash  from 
their  jeweled  depths. 

He  looked  into  the  eyes  of  the  graceful  young  rider 
by  his  side  and  longed  to  tell  her  of  this  miracle  wrought 
in  his  soul.  But  he  hesitated.  She  was  too  dignified 
and  self-possessed.  It  would  be  silly  when  put  into 
words. 

But  the  world  to-day  was  too  beautiful  to  hurry 
through  it.  He  just  couldn't. 

"  Let's  stop  on  this  hill  and  watch  the  sunset,  Miss 
Sarah  ?  "  he  suggested. 

"  I'd  love  to,"  was  the  simple  answer. 

With  a  light  laugh,  she  sprang  from  the  saddle. 
They  touched  the  ground  at  the  same  moment. 

He  looked  at  her  with  undisguised  admiration. 

"  You're  a  wonderful  rider,"  he  said. 

"  A  soldier's  daughter  must  be  —  it's  part  of  her 
life." 

He  tied  their  horses  to  the  low  hanging  limbs  of  a 
cluster  of  scrub  trees,  and  found  a  seat  on  the  bowlders 
which  the  Indians  had  set  for  a  landmark  on  the  lonely 
hilltop. 

Westward  the  plains  stretched,  a  silent  ocean  of  green, 
luscious  grass. 

45 


THE  VICTIM 


"What's  that  dark  spot  in  the  valley?"  the  girl 
eagerly  asked. 

"  Watch  it  a  moment  — " 

They  sat  in  silence  for  five  minutes. 

"  Why,  it's  moving !  "  she  cried. 

"  Yes." 

"  How  curious  — " 

"  An  illusion?  "  he  suggested. 

"  Nonsense,  I'm  not  dreaming." 

"  I've  been  dreaming  a  lot  lately  — " 

A  smile  played  about  the  corners  of  her  fine  mouth. 
But  she  ignored  the  hint. 

"  Tell  me,"  she  cried ;  "  you  studied  the  sciences  at 
West  Point,  what  does  it  mean  ?  " 

"  Look  closely.  Any  fifteen-year-old  boy  of  the 
plains  could  explain  it." 

"  Am  I  so  ignorant  ?  "  she  laughed. 

"  No,"  he  answered  soberly,  "  our  eyes  just  refuse  to 
see  things  at  which  we  are  looking  until  the  voice  within 
reveals.  The  eyes  of  a  hunter  could  make  no  mistake 
about  such  a  spot  —  particularly  if  it  moved." 

"  It  might  be  a  passing  cloud  — " 

"  There's  none  in  the  sky." 

"  Tell  me !  "  she  pleaded. 

"  A  herd  of  buffalo." 

"  That  big  black  field !     It  must  be  ten  acres  — " 

The  man  laughed  at  her  ignorance  with  a  sudden 
longing  in  his  heart  to  help  and  protect  her. 

"  Ten  acres !  Look  again.  They  are  twenty  miles 
away.  The  herd  is  packed  so  densely,  the  ground  is 
invisible.  They  cover  a  thousand  acres." 

"Impossible—" 

"  I  assure  you,  it's  true.  They  were  once  even  more 
plentiful.  But  we're  pushing  them  back  with  the  In 
dians  into  the  sunset.  And  they,  too,  will  fade  away 
into  the  twilight  at  last  — " 

46 


LOVE 


He  stopped  suddenly.  He  had  almost  spoken  a  sen 
tence  that  would  have  committed  him  beyond  retreat. 
It  was  just  on  his  lips  to  say: 

"  I  didn't  take  such  tender  views  of  Indians  and  buf 
faloes  until  I  met  you !  " 

For  the  life  of  him  he  couldn't  make  the  girl  out, 
Her  voice  was  music.  Her  laughter  contagious.  And 
yet  she  was  reserved.  About  her  personality  hung  a 
spell  which  forbade  familiarity.  Flirting  was  a  pas 
time  in  the  army.  But  it  had  never  appealed  to  him. 
He  wras  not  so  sure  about  her  when  she  laughed. 

And  then  her  father  worried  him.  The  fiery  old 
Southerner  had  the  temper  of  the  devil  when  roused. 
He  could  see  that  this  second  daughter  was  his  favor 
ite.  He  had  caught  a  look  of  unreasonable  anger  and 
jealousy  in  his  eye  only  that  afternoon  when  they  rode 
away  together. 

Still  he  must  risk  it.  He  had  really  suggested  this 
sunset  scene  for  that  purpose.  The  field  was  his  own 
choosing.  Only  a  coward  could  run  now. 

He  managed  at  last  to  get  his  lips  to  work. 

"  Since  you  came,  Miss  Sarah  —  I've  been  seeing  life 
at  a  new  angle — "  he  paused  awkwardly. 

The  red  blood  mounted  to  her  cheeks. 

"  You  have  given  me  new  eyes  — " 

She  turned  her  head  away.  There  was  no  mistaking 
the  tremor  of  his  tones.  She  was  too  honest  to  simper 
and  pretend.  Her  heart  was  pounding  so  loudly  she 
wondered  if  he  could  hear. 

He  fumbled  nervously  with  his  glove,  glanced  at  her 
from  the  corner  of  his  eye,  and  his  voice  sank  to  a 
whisper: 

"  I  —  I  love  you,  Sarah  !  " 

She  turned  slowly  and  looked  at  him  through  dimmed 
eyes: 

"  And  I  love  you  — " 

47 


THE  VICTIM 


She  paused,  brushed  a  tear  from  her  cheek,  and  with 
sweet  reproach  quietly  added: 

"  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  sooner?  We've  lost  so 
many  beautiful  days  that  might  have  been  perfect — " 

He  suddenly  stooped  and  kissed  her  full  lips. 

"  We'll  not  lose  any  more  — " 

"  The  world  is  beautiful,  isn't  it,  dear !  "  she  said, 
nestling  closer. 

"  Since  I  see  with  your  eyes  —  yes.  It  was  only  a 
place  to  fight  in,  before.  Now  it's  a  fairy  world,  and 
these  wild  flowers  that  cover  the  plains  only  grow  to 
make  a  carpet  for  the  feet  of  the  girl  I  love  — " 

"  A  fairy  world  —  yes  —  "  she  whispered,  "  it's  been 
just  that  to  me  since  I  first  sang  the  '  Fairy  Bells  '  for 
you  — " 

"  I'll  never  love  another  song  as  that,"  he  said  rev 
erently. 

"  Nor  I,"  was  the  low  response.  "  My  heart  will 
beat  to  its  music  forever  —  it  just  means  you, 
now  — " 

For  a  long  time  they  sat  without  words,  holding  each 
other's  hand.  The  sun  hung  a  glowing  ball  of  fire  on 
the  rim  of  the  far-away  hills,  and  the  shadows  of  the 
valley  deepened  into  twilight. 

"  How  wonderful  the  silence  of  the  plains !  "  the  lover 
sighed. 

"  It  used  to  oppress  me." 

The  man  nodded. 

"  And  now,  I  hear  the  beat  of  angels'  wings  and  know 
that  God  is  near — " 

"  Because  we  love  — "  and  she  laughed  for  joy. 

Again  they  sat  in  sweet,  brooding  silence. 

A  horseman  rode  over  the  hilltop  in  the  glow  of  the 
fading  sun.  From  its  summit,  he  lifted  his  hand  and 
waved  a  salute.  They  looked  below,  and  in  the  door 
way  of  a  cabin,  a  young  mother  stood,  a  babe  in  her 

48 


"  '  You  have  given  me  new  eyes 


WAR 

arms    answering   with   hand   uplifted   high   above   her 
child. 

"  What   does   it  matter,   dear,"   she   whispered,   "  a 
cabin  or  a  palace !  " 


IX 

WAR 

Side  by  side  through  the  still  white  light  of  the  full 
moon  they  rode  home,  in  each  heart  the  glow  of  the  won 
der  and  joy  of  Love's  first  revelation.  Words  were  an 
intrusion.  The  eyes  of  the  soul  were  seeing  now  the 
hidden  things  of  life. 

The  gleam  of  the  lights  at  the  Fort  brought  them 
sharply  out  of  dreamland  into  the  world  of  fact. 

"  You  must  see  my  father  to-night,  dear,"  she  said 
eagerly. 

"Must  I,  to-night?" 

"  It's  best." 

"  I'd  rather  face  a  hundred  Red  Men  in  war  paint." 

A  merry  laugh  was  her  answer  as  she  leaned  close: 

"  Don't  be  silly,  he  likes  you." 

"  But  he  loves  you." 

"  Of  course,  and  for  that  reason  my  happiness  will 
be  his." 

"  God  knows,  I  hope  so,"  was  the  doleful  response. 
"  But  if  I  must,  I  must.  I'll  see  him." 

A  quick  kiss  in  the  friendly  shadows  and  she  was 
gone. 

He  walked  alone  an  hour  after  supper,  screwing  up 
his  courage  to  the  point  of  bearding  the  Colonel  in  his 
den.  He  fumbled  the  door-bell  at  last,  his  heart  in  his 
throat. 

Old  Rough  and  Ready  was  not  inclined  to  help  him 
5  49 


THE  VICTIM 


in  his  embarrassment.  Never  had  he  seen  the  lines  of 
his  strong  jaw  harder  or  more  set  than  when  he  grunted : 

"  Sit  down,  sir.  Don't  stand  there  staring.  I'm 
not  on  inspection." 

The  perspiration  started  on  his  forehead  and  he 
moistened  his  dry  lips. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Colonel.  I  was  a  little  flus 
tered.  I've  —  a  —  something  —  on  —  my  mind  — " 

"Out  with  it!" 

"I  —  I  —  I'm  in  love  with  Miss  Sarah." 

"You  don't  say?" 

"  Y-yes,  sir." 

"  Well,  it's  no  news  to  me.  The  whole  family  have 
been  enjoying  the  affair  for  some  time.  I  suppose 
you're  asking  —  or  think  you're  asking  —  for  my 
daughter's  hand  in  marriage?  " 

"  That's  it  —  yes,  sir  —  exactly." 

"  I  guessed  as  much.  I'm  glad  to  tell  you,  young 
man,  that  I've  always  had  the  kindliest  feelings  for  you 
personally  — " 

"  Thank  you,  sir  — " 

"  And  the  warmest  admiration  for  your  talents  as  an 
officer.  You're  a  good  soldier.  You  have  brains. 
You  have  executive  ability.  You're  a  leader  of  men. 
You'll  go  far  in  your  profession  — " 

"Thank  you,  sir—" 

"  And  that's  why  I  don't  like  you  as  a  son-in-law." 

«W  —  Wha— " 

"  I  love  my  daughter,  and  I  want  her  to  be  happy  in  a 
real  home  with  a  real  husband  and  children  by  her  side. 
A  soldier's  life  is  a  dog's  life.  I've  pitied  the  poor  girl 
who  gave  up  her  home  for  me.  Many  a  bitter  tear  has 
she  shed  over  my  absence,  in  torturing  dread  of  the  next 
letter  from  the  frontier — " 

He  paused  and  sprang  to  his  feet: 

"  A  hundred  times  I've  sworn  no  daughter  of  mine 

50 


WAR 

should  ever  marry  a  soldier!  The  better  the  soldier, 
the  more  reason  she  should  not  marry  him — " 

"  But,  sir  — " 

"There's  no  «  but '  about  it!"  the  Colonel  thun 
dered.  "  You're  asking  me  to  let  you  murder  my  girl, 
that's  all  —  but  it's  life.  I'll  have  to  give  my  con 
sent  and  wish  you  good  luck,  long  life,  and  all  the  hap 
piness  you  can  get  out  of  a  soldier's  lot." 

The  Colonel  extended  his  hand  and  the  Lieutenant 
grasped  it  with  grateful  eagerness. 

The  days  that  followed  were  red  lettered  in  the  cal 
endar  of  life. 

And  then  it  came  —  a  crash  of  thunder  out  of  the 
clear  sky  —  the  thing  he  had  somehow  felt  and  dreaded. 

A  petty  court-martial  was  called  to  adjust  a  question 
of  army  discipline.  The  court  was  composed  of  Z. 
Taylor,  Colonel  Commanding,  Major  Thomas  F.  Smith, 
a  fiery-tempered  gay  officer  of  the  old  army,  Lieutenant 
Jefferson  Davis,  and  the  new  Second  Lieutenant  who 
had  just  arrived  from  the  Jefferson  Barracks  at  St. 
Louis. 

The  army  regulations  required  that  each  officer  sit 
ting  in  court-martial  should  be  in  full  uniform.  The 
new  arrival  from  St.  Louis  had  come  without  his  uni 
form.  His  trunk  had  miscarried  and  was  returned  to 
the  Jefferson  Barracks. 

He  rose  with  embarrassment: 

"  I  must  beg  the  pardon  of  the  Court,  Colonel,"  he 
began  cautiously,  "  for  not  appearing  in  my  uniform. 
As  it  is  in  St.  Louis  I  respectfully  ask  to  be  excused  to 
day  from  wearing  it." 

The  old  Colonel  scowled.  It  was  just  like  a  young 
fool  to  wish  to  sit  in  solemn  judgment  on  a  fellow  offi 
cer  —  in  his  shirt  sleeves.  If  he  had  asked  to  be  ex 
cused  from  serving  on  the  Court  —  yes  —  he  could  ac 
cept  his  excuse  and  let  him  go.  But  this  insolence  was 

51 


THE  VICTIM 


unbearable.  The  Colonel  glanced  over  the  Court  be 
fore  putting  the  question  to  a  vote.  Smith  was  his 
enemy.  Whichever  way  he  voted  as  President,  the 
Major  could  be  depended  on  to  go  against  his  decision. 
There  was  a  feud  between  these  two  hot-tempered  fire- 
eaters  which  had  lasted  for  years.  He  glanced  at  his 
future  son-in-law  with  a  smile  of  assured  victory.  Tom 
Smith  would  vote  .against  him,  but  the  trembling 
youngster  who  had  quailed  before  him  that  night  ask 
ing  for  his  daughter's  hand  was  practically  in  the  fam 
ily.  He  smiled  at  the  certainty  of  downing  Smith  once 
more. 

In  a  voice,  whose  tones  left  nothing  to  the  imagina 
tion  of  the  presumptuous  Second  Lieutenant,  the  Colo 
nel  growled: 

"  Gentlemen,  we  are  asked  to  allow  an  officer  to  sit 
in  the  formal  judgment  of  a  court-martial  without  uni 
form  —  I  put  the  question  to  a  vote  and  cast  mine. 
No!" 

"  I  vote  yes!  "  shouted  the  Major. 

The  Colonel  did  not  condescend  to  look  his  way.  He 
knew  what  that  vote  was  before  he  heard  it.  He  bent 
his  piercing  eyes  on  his  future  son-in-law: 

"  Lieutenant  Davis  ?  " 

There  was  just  a  moment's  hesitation.  The  Lieu 
tenant  smiled  at  his  embarrassed  young  fellow  officer 
and  mildly  answered: 

"  I  think,  Colonel,  in  view  of  the  distance  to  St.  Louis, 
we  may  excuse  the  young  man  for  the  first  offense  — 
I  vote  —  yes." 

The  old  Colonel  stared  at  him  in  speechless  amaze 
ment.  Smith  grinned. 

The  Colonel's  face  grew  purple  with  rage.  He  was 
just  able  to  gasp  his  words  during  the  progress  of  the 
trial.  It  was  brief,  and  when  it  ended  and  the  rest  hac? 
gone,  he  faced  the  Lieutenant  with  blazing  eyes : 

52 


WAR 

"  How  dare  you,  sir,  vote  with  that  damned  fool 
against  me  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  never  thought  to  hurt  you,  Colonel  — " 

"  No?     And  what  did  you  think?  " 

"  I  only  thought  of  relieving  the  evident  embarrass 
ment  of  a  young  officer  — " 

"You  did,  eh?  —  no  thought  of  me  or  my  feelings, 
of  my  wishes.  You're  a  hell  of  a  son-in-law,  you 
are—  " 

He  paused  for  breath  and  choked  with  rage  no  words 
could  express.  When  at  last  his  tongue  found  speech, 
he  swore  in  oaths  more  expressive  and  profound  than 
modern  man  has  ever  dreamed.  He  damned  the  Court. 
He  damned  Tom  Smith.  He  damned  the  Second  Lieu 
tenant.  He  damned  the  regiment.  He  damned  the 
Government  that  created  it.  He  damned  the  Indians 
that  called  it  to  the  plains.  He  damned  the  world  and 
all  in  it,  and  all  things  under  it.  But,  particularly  and 
specifically,  he  damned  the  young  ass  who  dared  to 
flaunt  his  feelings  and  opinions  after  smiling  in  his  face 
at  his  house,  for  days  and  weeks  and  months. 

Finally,  facing  the  blushing  Lieutenant,  his  eyes 
flashing  indignant  scorn,  he  shouted : 

"  No  man  who  votes  with  a  damned  fool  like  Tom 
Smith,  can  marry  my  daughter !  " 

"  Colonel,  I  protest,"  pleaded  the  heartsick  lover. 

"  I  forbid  you  to  ever  put  your  foot  inside  my  quar 
ters  again !  " 

"  Colonel  — " 

"  Silence,  sir !  I  forbid  you  to  ever  speak  to  my 
daughter  again !  " 

"  But,  Colonel  — " 

"  I  repudiate  you  and  all  yours.  I  wipe  you  from 
the  map.  You  don't  exist.  I  don't  know  you.  I 
never  knew  you.  Get  out  of  my  sight !  " 

The  tall,  slender  form  slowly  straightened  and  a  look 

53 


THE  VICTIM 


of  cold  pride  shot  from  the  depths  of  his  blue  eyes. 
Without  a  word  he  turned  and  left. 


ROMANCE 

Black  Hawk  was  leading  his  red  warriors  in  a  great 
uprising.  A  wave  of  fierce  excitement  swept  the  fron 
tier.  There  was  stern  work  now  for  men  to  do  and 
women  must  wait  alone. 

The  regiment  marched  to  the  front.  The  Colonel  as 
a  man  was  freezingly  formal  with  the  Lieutenant.  As 
an  officer,  he  knew  his  worth  and  relied  on  it  in  every 
emergency.  The  State  of  Illinois  had  raised  two  com 
panies  of  raw  recruits  to  join  in  subduing  the  Indians. 
The  Colonel  sent  his  most  efficient  subordinate  to  swear 
in  the  new  soldiers.  On  the  morning  of  the  muster, 
there  appeared  before  the  tall  Lieutenant,  a  man  full 
three  inches  taller,  and  famous  in  his  county  as  the 
gawkiest,  slab-sidest,  homeliest,  best-natured  fellow  in 
the  State.  He  was  dressed  in  a  suit  of  blue  jeans. 

In  slow,  pleasing  drawl,  he  announced  : 

"  I  am  the  Captain  of  this  company  — " 

And  he  waved  his  long  arm  toward  the  crowd  of  his 
countrymen  on  the  right. 

Lieutenant  Jefferson  Davis  promptly  administered 
to  Abraham  Lincoln  his  first  oath  to  support  the  Consti 
tution  and  laws  of  the  United  States. 

Two  men  destined  to  immortal  fame  had  met  and 
passed  with  scarcely  a  glance  at  each  other.  The  young 
army  officer  was  too  much  of  a  gentleman  to  mark 
the  ill-fitting  blue  jeans  of  the  awkward  captain  of 
militia.  Great  events,  after  all,  make  men  great. 

54 


ROMANCE 


Only  the  eye  of  God  could  foresee  the  coming  tragedy 
in  which  these  two  would  play  their  mighty  roles. 

At  the  end  of  the  brief  struggle  on  the  frontier, 
Black  Hawk's  people  were  scattered  to  the  four  winds 
and  the  brave  old  warrior,  with  a  handful  of  his  men, 
sought  Colonel  Taylor's  command  to  surrender. 

Again,  the  Colonel  sent  his  most  accomplished  offi 
cer,  the  Lieutenant  whom  he  had  forbidden  to  enter  his 
house, —  to  treat  with  the  fallen  Chief. 

The  Lieutenant  received  with  kindly  words  the 
broken-hearted  warrior,  his  two  sons  and  sixty  braves, 
and  conducted  them  at  once  as  prisoners  of  war  to  the 
barracks  at  St.  Louis. 

The  cholera  was  raging  at  Rock  Island,  and  on  the 
boat  two  of  the  Indian  prisoners  were  seized  with  the 
fatal  disease.  The  Lieutenant,  at  the  risk  of  his  life, 
personally  ministered  to  their  needs.  The  two  stricken 
men  made  known  to  the  commander  in  broken  words 
and  signs  that  they  had  sworn  an  oath  of  eternal 
friendship.  In  pleading  tones  the  stronger  said: 

"  We  beg  the  good  Chief  to  put  us  ashore  that  hand 
in  hand  we  may  go  to  the  happy  hunting  grounds  to 
gether." 

Near  the  first  little  settlement  their  prayer  was 
granted. 

The  young  officer  turned  to  his  boat  with  a  sigh  as 
he  saw  the  red  warriors  slip  their  arms  about  each  other 
and  slowly  sink  to  the  ground  to  die  alone  and  unat 
tended. 

Old  Black  Hawk  sat  in  silent,  stolid  indifference  to 
his  fate  until  the  curious  settlers  began  to  crowd  on  the 
boat  and  stare  at  his  misery. 

The  Lieutenant  interfered  with  sharp  decision. 

"  Push  those  men  back,  Corporal !  "  he  ordered  an 
grily. 

The  crowd  was  roughly  pushed  back  and  the  Lieu- 

55 


THE  VICTIM 


tenant  took  Black  Hawk  kindly  by  the  arm  and  led  him 
into  a  reserved  apartment  where  he  was  free  from  vul 
gar  eyes. 

The  old  man's  lips  tightened.  He  gazed  at  the  of 
ficer  steadily  and  spoke  in  measured  tones : 

"  The  young  war  Chief  treats  me  with  much  kind 
ness.  He  is  good  and  brave.  He  puts  himself  in  my 
place  and  sees  all  that  I  suffer.  With  him  I  am  much 
pleased." 

The  Lieutenant  bowed  and  left  him  under  the  protec 
tion  of  the  guard.  Courtesy  to  a  fallen  foe  in  the  old 
days  was  the  first  obligation  of  an  officer  and  a  gen 
tleman. 

In  the  autumn,  Colonel  Taylor  again  sent  his  Lieu 
tenant  on  a  distant  duty  —  this  time  one  of  peculiar 
danger.  He  was  ordered  to  Louisville  and  Lexington 
on  recruiting  service.  And  the  cholera  was  known  to 
be  epidemic  but  a  few  miles  from  Lexington. 

The  good-by  scene  that  night  at  the  lovers'  trysting 
place,  the  little  tent  reception-room  of  the  McCreas',  was 
long  and  tender  and  solemn. 

"  Oh,  I  feel  dreadful  about  this  trip,  dear,"  his  sweet 
heart  kept  repeating  with  pitiful  despair  that  refused 
to  be  comforted. 

"  You  must  be  brave,  my  own,"  he  answered  with  a 
frown.  "  A  soldier's  business  is  to  die.  I  am  a  soldier. 
I  go  where  duty  calls  — " 

"  To  battle  —  yes  —  but  this  black  pestilence  that 
comes  in  the  night  —  I'm  afraid  —  I  just  can't  help  it 
—  I'm  afraid.  I've  always  had  a  horror  of  such  things. 
I've  a  presentiment  that  you'll  die  that  way  — " 

"  Presentiments  and  dreams  go  by  opposites.  I'll 
live  to  a  ripe  old  age  — " 

She  looked  up  into  his  face  with  a  tender  smile: 

"You  think  so?" 

"Yes,  why  not?" 

56 


ROMANCE 


"  Well  —  I've  something  to  tell  you  — " 

She  paused  and  the  man  bent  low. 

"What?" 

"  I've  made  a  vow  to  God  — "  the  voice  stopped  with 
a  sob  — "  that  if  He  will  only  send  you  safely  back  to 
me  this  time  —  I'll  wait  no  longer  on  my  father's  whim 
—  I  am  yours  — " 

The  lover  clasped  her  trembling  form  to  his  heart. 

"  Good-by,  dearest,"  he  said  at  last.  "  I  wish  to  go 
with  that  promise  ringing  in  my  soul." 

Ten  days  after  he  reached  Lexington,  the  cholera 
broke  out,  and  hundreds  fled.  He  stood  by  his  men, 
watched  their  diet,  nursed  the  sick,  and  buried  the  dead. 
He  helped  the  carpenter  make  the  coffins  and  reverently 
bore  the  victims  to  their  graves.  No  fear  was  in  his 
soul.  Love  was  chanting  the  anthem  of  Life. 

A  strange  new  light  was  burning  in  the  eyes  of  the 
woman  he  loved  on  the  day  he  returned  in  safety. 

She  seized  his  hand  and  spoke  with  decision: 

"  Come  with  me." 

Her  father  was  standing  at  the  gate.  She  faced  him, 
holding  defiantly  the  hand  of  her  lover. 

The  old  man  saw  and  understood.  His  jaw  was  set 
with  sullen  determination  and  his  face  hardened. 

"  We  have  waited  two  long  years,"  she  began  softly. 
"  We  have  been  patient  and  hopeful,  but  you  have  given 
no  sign.  My  lover's  character  is  beyond  reproach, 
and  I  am  proud  of  him.  I  am  sorry  to  cross  you,  Fa 
ther,  but  I've  made  up  my  mind,  I  am  going  to  marry 
him  now." 

The  Colonel  turned  in  silence  and  slowly  walked  into 
the  house. 

Captain  McCrea  engaged  a  stateroom  for  her  on  the 
boat  for  Louisville.  The  lovers  planned  to  meet  at  her 
aunt's,  the  Colonel's  oldest  sister.  The  tearful  good- 
bys  had  been  said  to  Mother  and  sisters  and  brother. 

57 


THE  VICTIM 


The  Colonel  had  not  spoken,  but  he  had  business  on  the 
boat  before  she  cast  her  lines  from  the  shore. 

The  daughter  drew  him  into  her  stateroom  and 
slipped  her  arms  around  his  neck.  Few  words  were 
spoken  and  they  were  broken. 

"  Please,  Father  —  please  —  I  love  you  —  please  — " 

"  No." 

"  I'm  no  longer  a  child.  I'm  a  woman.  You're  a 
real  man  and  you  know  I  could  have  no  respect  for  my 
self  if  I  should  yield  my  life's  happiness  to  a  whim  — " 

The  old  Colonel  stroked  her  shoulder : 

"  I  understand.  You're  a  chip  off  the  old  block. 
You're  just  as  stubborn  as  I  am.  And  —  I  —  won't  — 
eat  —  my  —  words." 

With  firm  hand,  he  drew  away  and  hurried  from  the 
boat. 

The  Taylor  clan  of  Kentucky  gathered  for  the  wed 
ding  in  force.  The  romance  appealed  to  their  fancy. 
They  loved  their  high-spirited,  self-poised  little  kins 
woman  and  they  liked  the  tall,  modest,  young  officer  she 
had  chosen  for  her  husband.  The  stern  old  Colonel 
was  not  there,  but  his  brother  and  his  three  sisters  and 
all  their  tribe  made  merry  at  the  wedding  feast. 

On  the  deck  of  the  lazy  river  steamer,  the  bride  and 
groom  slowly  drifted  down  the  moonlit  shimmering 
way  to  the  fields  of  Mississippi. 

The  bride  nestled  close  to  her  lover's  side  in  the  long 
sweet  silences  too  deep  for  words. 

He  took  her  hand  in  his  at  last,  and  said  tenderly : 

"  I've  something  very  important  to  tell  you  now,  my 
dear  — " 

"  I'm  not  afraid  — " 

"  You  trust  me  implicitly?  " 

"  Perfectly  — " 

"  You  have  given  up  all  for  me,"  he  went  on  evenly, 
"  I'll  show  your  father  what  I  can  do  for  you  — " 

58 


ROMANCE 


"  You  love  me  —  it's  enough." 

"  No.  I  have  resigned  my  commission  in  the  army. 
I  have  given  up  my  career.  We'll  live  only  for  each 
other  now  and  build  our  nest  in  the  far  sunny  South 
beyond  the  frost  line." 

A  little  smothered  cry  was  her  answer.  And  then 
her  head  slowly  sank  with  a  sob  on  his  breast. 


XI 

THE  FAIRY  BELLS 

They  built  their  home  on  the  banks  of  the  great  river 
where  the  tide  sweeps  in  graceful  curve,  all  but  complet 
ing  the  circle  of  an  enchanted  isle. 

From  the  little  flower-veiled  porch  through  festoons 
of  lacing  boughs  gleamed  the  waters  of  the  huge  curved 
mirror  held  by  Nature's  hand.  The  music  from  the 
decks  of  the  steamers  floated  up  on  the  soft  air  until 
music  and  perfume  of  flowers  seemed  one. 

In  the  cool  of  the  morning,  on  swift,  high-bred  horses, 
they  rode  side  by  side  along'  the  river's  towering  bluff 
and  laughed  in  sheer  joy  at  their  foolish  happiness. 
In  the  waning  afternoon,  hand  in  hand,  they  walked 
the  sunlit  fields  and  paused  at  dusk  to  hear  the  songs 
of  slaves.  The  happiness  of  lovers  is  contagious.  It 
sets  the  hearts  of  slaves  to  singing. 

In  the  white  solemn  splendor  of  the  Southern  moon 
they  strolled  through  enchanted  paths  of  scented  roses. 
On  the  rustic  seat  beneath  a  magnolia  in  full  second 
bloom  they  listened  to  the  song  of  a  mocking-bird  whose 
mate  had  built  her  nest  in  the  rose  trellis  beside  their 
door.  They  could  count  the  beat  of  his  bird  heart  night 
after  night  as  he  sang  the  glory  of  his  love  and  the 
beauty  of  his  coming  brood  of  young. 

59 


THE  VICTIM 


"  You  are  happy,  dearest  ?  "  the  lover  sighed. 

"  In  heaven, —  I  am  with  you." 

"  And  it  shall  be  forever." 

"Forever!" 

"  The  old  life  of  blood  and  strife  —  it  seems  an  ugly 
dream." 

"  Except  for  the  sweet  days  when  you  were  near." 

"  This  only  is  life,  my  own,  to  hold  your  hand,  and 
walk  the  way  together,  to  build,  not  to  destroy,  to  make 
flowers  bloom,  birds  and  slaves  sing,  to  create,  not  kill 
—  production  is  communion  with  God.  We  live  now 
in  His  peace  that  passeth  understanding !  " 

A  long  silence  followed.  An  owl  in  a  distant  tree 
top  gave  a  shrill  plaintive  cry.  The  bride  nestled 
closer  and  he  felt  her  shiver. 

"  You  are  chill,  dearest?  "  he  murmured. 

"  Just  a  little." 

"  We're  forgetting  the  late  August  night  winds  — " 

"No  —  no  —  it's  nothing  —  I'm  just  a  wee  bit 
afraid  of  an  owl,  that's  all." 

A  dark  figure  slowly  approached  and  stood  with  un 
covered  head. 

"  What  is  it,  James?  "  the  master  asked. 

"  It's  too  late,  sir,  for  you  and  the  mistis  to  be  out  in 
dis  air  —  it's  chill  an'  fever  time  — " 

"  Thank  you,  James  —  we'll  go  in  at  once." 

When  the  faithful  footfall  had  died  away,  the  lover 
lifted  his  bride  in  his  arms  and  carried  her  in,  while  she 
softly  laughed  and  clung  to  his  strong  young  shoulders. 

It  came  with  swift,  sure  tread,  the  silent  white  figure 
of  the  Pestilence  that  walks  in  Tropic  Splendor. 

The  lover  laughed  the  doctor's  fears  to  scorn  and 
the  old  man  was  brave  and  cheerful  in  the  presence  of 
youth  and  happiness. 

James  Pemberton  followed  him  to  the  gate  and  held 
his  horse's  bridle  with  a  tremor  in  his  black  hand. 

60 


THE  FAIRY  BELLS 


"  You  don't  think,  doctor  — "  he  paused,  afraid  to 
say  the  thing  — "  you  don't  think  my  young  mistis 
gwine  ter  die?  " 

"  She's  very  ill,  Jim  —  it's  an  even  fight  for  life." 

"  Ef  she  do  —  hit'll  kill  my  young  marster  — " 

"  Soldiers  can't  die  that  way  —  no  — " 

"  Yassah  —  but  dey  ain't  been  married  but  three 
months,  sah,  an'  he  des  worship  de  very  groun'  her  lit 
tle  foot  walks  on  —  she  des  can't  die  —  she  too  young 
an'  putty,  sah  —  hit  des  natchally  can't  be — " 

The  doctor's  gray  head  slowly  moved  as  if  in  re 
membrance  of  tragic  scenes. 

"  Death  loves  a  shining  mark  sometimes !  " 

He  turned  to  the  slave  in  tones  of  warning : 

"  Watch  your  master  closely  — " 

"  My  marster  —  sah !  " 

"  He'll  go  down  next  — " 

"  Yassah  —  yassah !  " 

Two  days  later,  the  strong  man  collapsed  with  a 
crash  that  took  even  the  experienced  old  doctor  by 
surprise.  An  iron  will  had  bent  over  the  bedside  of 
his  bride  and  fought  with  grim  defiance  the  battle 
with  unseen  foe  until  the  last  ounce  of  strength  had 
gone. 

In  his  delirium  they  moved  him  to  another  room  and 
he  awoke  to  find  himself  in  a  prison  cell  on  a  desert  is 
land  a  thousand  miles  from  the  mate  he  adored. 

He  watched  his  jailers  and  at  last  his  hour  came. 
The  tired  guard  beside  his  prison  pallet  slept.  With 
fevered  stealth  he  rose  and  with  the  strength  of  a 
giant,  bent  the  bars  of  his  cage  and  crawled  and  fought 
his  way  over  hill  and  valley,  rocks  and  mountains,  back 
to  the  bedside  of  his  beloved. 

He  paused  in  rapture  at  the  door.  She  was  sitting 
up  in  bed,  the  pillows  propped  behind  her  back,  singing 
their  favorite  song  — "  Fairy  Bells."  How  soft  and 

61 


THE  VICTIM 


weirdly  sweet  her  voice  — its  notes  so  far  away  and 
plaintive  —  never  had  she  sung  so  divinely  ! 

He  held  his  breath  lest  a  word  or  quiver  of  its 
melody  should  be  lost.  And  then  he  slipped  his  strong 
arms  about  her  and  looked  into  her  eyes  shining  with 
unearthly  beauty. 

"  You  have  come  at  last,  my  own !  "  she  sighed.  "  I 
knew  the  Bells  would  call  you  — " 

"  Yes  —  dearest  —  and  I'll  never  leave  you  again  — 
they  took  me  away  a  wounded  prisoner  of  war  —  but  I 
broke  the  bars  and  came  when  I  heard  you  call  — " 

"  Look,"  she  whispered,  pointing  with  the  slender 
blue-veined  finger,  "  there  she  is,  in  the  doorway  again 
with  her  baby  in  her  arms,  waving  at  sunset  to  her  lover 
on  the  hill  —  what  does  it  matter,  a  cabin  or  a  palace !  " 

The  shining  eyes  grew  dim,  the  figure  drooped,  and 
a  wild  piteous  cry  came  from  the  lover's  fevered  lips : 

"  Lord  God  of  Love  and  Pity  —  she's  dying !  —  Help 
_  Help  — Help!" 

His  faithful  servant,  worn  with  watching  day  and 
night,  heard  the  cry,  rushed  to  his  side  and  caught  his 
fainting  form,  as  the  light  of  the  world  faded. 


XII 

TRUTH 

They  nursed  him  slowly  back  into  life  again,  the  lov 
ing  heart  of  the  older  brother  guiding  the  arm  of  his 
faithful  slave. 

He  refused  to  live  at  first. 

u  It's   no   use,   Joe,"    he   cried   with   bitter   despair. 
"  Life  isn't  worth  the  struggle  any  more. 
I  just  want  to  rest  —  by  her  side  —  that's  all." 

62 


TRUTH 


"  I  know,  Boy,  how  you  feel.  But  you  must  live. 
Duty  calls.  Great  events  are  stirring  the  world. 
You've  a  man's  part  to  play  — " 

"  I  won't  play  it.  I'm  done  with  ambition.  I'm 
done  with  strife.  The  game's  not  worth  the  candle. 
I've  lived  the  only  life  worth  living,  and  it's  finished." 

Little  by  little,  each  day,  the  brother  slowly  rebuilt 
in  the  stricken  soul  the  will  to  live.  Before  he  was  able 
to  walk,  he  lifted  the  frail  form  in  his  arms,  car 
ried  him  into  his  big  library,  and  seated  him  in  an  arm 
chair  before  a  fire  of  glowing  logs. 

With  a  sweep  of  his  arm  about  the  room  toward  the 
crowded  shelves  he  began  in  earnest  tones : 

"  You're  going  to  live  with  me  now,  Boy.  We  love 
each  other  with  the  love  of  strong  men.  I  need  your 
help  and  companionship  in  my  study.  You  had  the  ad 
vantage  of  a  college  career  —  I  didn't.  We'll  master 
here  these  records  of  the  world's  life.  We'll  seek  wis 
dom  in  the  history  and  experience  of  man.  What  do 
you  know  of  the  treasures  buried  in  those  big  volumes  ? 
Our  young  men  go  to  school  and  plunge  into  life  with  a 
mere  smattering.  Do  you  know  the  history  of  your 
own  country,  how  it  was  discovered,  how  its  colonies 
grew,  how  its  battles  were  fought  against  overwhelming 
and  impossible  odds?  How  its  great  Constitution  grew 
in  the  hands  of  inspired  leaders,  who  builded  better 
than  they  knew  a  chart  for  the  guidance  of  man.  Do 
you  know  the  history  of  the  mind  of  man?  Do  you 
know  the  story  of  those  ragged  bleeding  feet  —  of  the 
great  thinkers  of  the  ages  who  have  found  the  path  of 
truth  through  blood  and  tears  and  then  walked  its  way 
to  the  stake,  to  the  block  and  the  gallows?  Come  with 
me  into  the  big  world  of  the  past  —  read,  study, 
think,  and  gird  yourself  with  power!  We're  just  en 
tering  on  the  struggle  that  means  life  or  death  to  our 
Republic.  I  believe  as  I  believe  in  God,  that  we  have 

63 


THE  VICTIM 


set  a  beacon  light  on  the  shores  of  the  world  that  will 
guide  the  human  race  to  its  mightiest  achievements  — 
unless  we  fail  to  keep  its  lantern  trimmed  and  bright. 

"  The  poison  of  indolence  is  in  our  blood  —  the  tend 
ency  to  centralized  tyranny.  We  are  but  a  few 
years  removed  from  its  curse.  As  we  grow  in  years, 
the  temptation  to  make  Washington  the  gilded  Capital 
of  an  Empire  becomes  more  and  more  apparent.  Un 
less  we  control  this  tendency  to  lapse  into  the  past,  we 
are  lost  and  the  story  of  our  fallen  Republic  will  be  but 
one  more  added  to  the  failures  of  history.  Unless  we 
can  preserve  the  sovereignty  of  our  States,  the  Union 
will  become  an  Empire,  not  a  Republic  of  republics. 
It's  a  difficult  thing  for  men  to  govern  themselves, 
though  they  can  do  it  better  than  anyone  else  has  ever 
done  it  for  them.  We  are  making  this  wonderful  ex 
periment  here  in  the  new  world.  The  fate  of  unborn 
millions  hangs  on  its  success.  You're  done  with  self 
and  self-seeking.  Ambition  is  a  dream  that  is  passed. 
Good !  Lay  your  life  in  unselfish  sacrifice  on  the  altar 
of  your  country.  Only  the  man  who  has  given  up  am 
bition  is  fit  for  great  leadership.  He  alone  dares  to 
seek  and  know  and  speak  the  Truth !  " 

The  tired  spirit  rose  with  a  new  view  of  human  life, 
its  aim  and  purpose.  For  eight  years  he  buried  himself 
in  the  library  on  his  brother's  estate.  Through  the 
long  winter  nights  the  two  brilliant  minds  fought  over  in 
friendly  contests  the  battles  of  the  ages  until  the  pas 
sion  for  Truth  grew  into  the  one  purpose  of  a  great 
soul. 

When  the  first  rumblings  of  the  storm  that  was  to 
shake  a  continent  broke  over  the  Republic,  he  stepped 
forth  to  take  his  place  in  the  world  of  action  —  the 
best  equipped,  most  thoroughly  trained,  most  perfectly 
poised  man  who  had  ever  entered  the  arena  of  American 
politics. 

64 


TRUTH 


His  rise  was  brilliant  and  unprecedented.  In  his 
first  contest  he  met  the  foremost  orator  of  the  age, 
Sergeant  Prentiss,  and  vanquished  him  on  his  own 
ground.  In  two  years  he  took  his  seat  in  Congress,  the 
favorite  son  of  Mississippi. 

He  had  scarcely  begun  his  career,  as  a  lawmaker, 
when  war  was  declared  against  Mexico.  He  resigned 
his  high  office,  raised  a  regiment  and  once  more  found 
himself  a  soldier  under  the  orders  of  stern  old  Zachary 
Taylor. 

On  his  first  battle  field  at  the  head  of  his  Mississippi 
regiment,  he  planted  the  flag  of  the  Republic  on  the 
Grand  Plaza  of  Monterey.  And  in  the  supreme  crisis 
of  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  with  the  blood  streaming 
from  his  wounds,  he  led  his  men  in  a  charge  against 
overwhelming  odds,  turned  the  tide  from  defeat  to  vic 
tory  and  gave  the  Presidency  to  the  man  who  had  de 
nied  to  him  his  daughter's  hand. 

He  hobbled  back  on  crutches  to  his  brother's  home  in 
Mississippi  amid  the  shouts  and  frenzied  acclaim  of  a 
proud  and  grateful  people.  Within  three  years  from 
the  day  he  entered  public  life,  he  took  his  seat  in  the 
Senate  Chamber  of  the  United  States  beside  Clay,  Cal- 
houn  and  Webster,  the  peer  of  any  man  within  its  walls, 
and  with  the  conscious  power  of  Knowledge  and  Truth, 
girded  himself  for  the  coming  struggle  of  giants. 


She  &targ 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CURTAIN  RISES 

"  For  the  Lord's  sake,  Jennie  — " 

Dick  Welford  paused  at  the  bottom  of  a  range  of 
steps  which  wound  up  the  capitol  hill  from  Pennsylvania 
Avenue. 

The  girl  standing  at  the  top  stamped  her  foot  im 
periously. 

"  Hurry  —  hurry !  " 

«  I  won't  — " 

"  Then  I'll  leave  you !  " 

The  boy  laughed. 

"  You  don't  dare.  It's  barely  sunup  —  still  dark  in 
spots  —  the  boogers'll  get  you  — " 

With  a  grin  he  deliberately  sat  down. 

"  Dick  Welford,  you're  the  laziest  white  man  I  ever 
saw  in  my  life  —  We  won't  get  a  seat,  I  tell  you  — " 

"  We  can  stand  up." 

"  We  won't  even  get  our  noses  in  the  door  — " 

"  You  don't  think  these  old  Senators  get  up  at  day 
light,  do  you?  " 

"  They  didn't  go  to  bed  last  night  — " 

"  I'll  bet  they  didn't !  "  Dick  laughed. 

"  I  know  one  that  didn't  anyhow  — " 
.  "Who?" 

"  Senator  Davis." 

"  How  do  you  know?  " 

"  Spent  the  night  there.  Father  stayed  so  late,  Mrs. 
Davis  put  me  to  bed.  Regular  procession  all  night 
long !  And  among  his  visitors  the  Blackest  Republican 
of  them  all  — " 

69 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Old  Abe  run  over  from  Illinois  to  say  good-by  ?  " 

"  No,  but  his  right  hand  man  Seward  did  — " 

"  Sly  old  snuff-dipping  hypocrite  — " 

"  Anyhow,  he's  the  brains  of  his  party." 

"  And  he  called  on  Jeff  Davis  last  night?  " 

"  Not  the  first  time  either.  Mrs.  Davis  told  me  that 
when  the  Senator  was  so  ill  with  neuralgia  and  came 
near  losing  his  sight,  Seward  came  every  day,  sat  in 
the  darkened  room  and  talked  for  hours  to  his 
enemy  — " 

"  That's  because  he's  a  Black  Republican.  Their 
ways  are  dark.  They  like  rooms  with  the  shades  pulled 
down  — " 

"  Anyhow  he  likes  Mr.  Davis." 

"  Well,  it's  good-by  to  the  old  Union  —  how  many 
Senators  are  going  to-day?  " 

"  Yulee  and  Mallory  from  Florida,  Clay  and  Fitz- 
patrick  from  Alabama  and  Senator  Davis  — " 

"All  in  a  day?" 

«  Yes  — " 

"  Jennie,  they'll  talk  their  heads  off.  It'll  be  three 
o'clock  before  the  first  one  finishes.  We'll  die.  Let's 
go  to  Mt.  Vernon —  " 

"  Dick  Welford,  I'm  ashamed  of  you.  You've  no 
patriotism  at  all  — " 

"  And  I  just  proposed  a  pilgrimage  to  the  home  of 
George  Washington !  " 

"  You  don't  care  what  happens  in  the  Senate  Cham 
ber  to-day  — " 

"  No  —  I  don't." 

The  boy's  lazy  figure  slowly  rose,  mounted  the  steps, 
paused  and  looked  down  into  the  tense  eager  young 
face. 

"  You  really  want  to  know,"  he  began  slowly,  "  why 
speaking  tires  me  now  ?  " 

«Yes  — why?" 

70 


THE  CURTAIN  RISES 


66  Because  it's  a  waste  of  breath  —  we're  going  to 
fight !  " 

The  girl  flushed  with  excitement. 

"Who  told  youK  What  have  you  heard?  Who 
said  so?  " 

A  dreamy  look  in  the  boy's  eyes  deepened. 

"  Nobody's  told  me.  I  just  know.  It's  in  the  air. 
A  wild  duck  knows  when  to  go  north.  A  bluebird 
knows  when  to  move  south.  It's  in  the  air.  That's 
the  way  I  know  — "  his  voice  dropped.  "  Let's  go  to 
Mt.  Vernon  and  spend  the  day,  Jennie  — " 

The  girl  looked  up  sharply.  The  low  persuasive 
tones  were  unmistakable. 

The  faintest  flush  mantled  her  cheeks. 

"  No  —  I  wouldn't  miss  those  speeches  for  anything. 
You  promised  to  take  me  to  the  Senate  gallery.  Come 
on." 

With  a  quick  bound  the  boy  scaled  the  next  flight  of 
steps  and  looked  down  at  her  laughing : 

"  All  right,  why  don't  you  come  on !  " 

With  a  frown  she  sprang  up  the  stone  stairs  and  he 
caught  her  step  with  a  sudden  military  salute.  They 
walked  in  silence  for  a  few  minutes. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  you  to-day,  Dick  Wei- 
ford?  " 

"Why,  Miss  Jennie  Barton?" 

"  I  never  saw  you  quite  so  foolish." 

"  Maybe  it's  because  I  never  saw  you  quite  so 
pretty  — " 

The  little  figure  stiffened  with  dignity. 

"  That  will  do  now,  sir  — " 

"Yessum!" 

She  threw  him  a  look  of  quiet  scorn  as  they  picked 
their  way  through  the  piles  of  building  material  for  the 
unfinished  dome  of  the  Capitol  and  mounted  the  steps. 

Barely  half  past  seven  o'clock  and  the  crowds  were 

71 


THE  VICTIM 


pouring  into  the  Senate  Chamber,  its  cloak  rooms  and 
galleries.  Within  thirty  minutes  after  they  had  found 
seats  opposite  the  diplomatic  gallery  every  inch  of 
space  in  the  great  hall  was  jammed  and  packed. 

Southern  women  and  their  escorts  outnumbered  the 
others  five  to  one.  The  Southern  wing  of  official 
Washington  was  out  in  force. 

The  tense  electric  atmosphere  was  oppressive. 

The  men  and  women  whose  eager  anxious  faces  looked 
down  on  the  circular  rows  of  senatorial  chairs  and  desks 
were  painfully  conscious  that  they  were  witnessing  the 
final  scene  of  a  great  historical  era. 

What  the  future  might  hold  God  alone  could  know. 
Their  fathers  had  dreamed  a  beautiful  dream  — 
"  E  Pluribus  Unwm  " —  one  out  of  many.  The  Union 
had  yet  to  be  realized  as  an  historical  fact.  The  dis 
cordant  elements  out  of  which  our  Constitution  had 
been  strangely  wrought  had  fought  their  way  at  last 
into  two  irreconcilable  hostile  sections,  the  very  struc 
ture  of  whose  civilization  rested  on  antagonistic  con 
ceptions  of  life  and  government. 

The  Northern  Senators  were  in  their  seats  with  grave 
faces  long  before  the  last  straggling  Southerner  picked 
his  way  into  the  Chamber  bowing  and  smiling  and  apolo 
gizing  to  the  ladies  on  whose  richly  embroidered  dresses 
he  must  step  or  give  up  the  journey. 

For  weeks  the  pretense  of  polite  formalities  between 
parties  had  been  unconsciously  dropped.  Men  no 
longer  bowed  and  smirked  and  passed  the  time  of  day 
with  shallow  words. 

With  heads  erect,  they  glanced  at  each  other  and 
passed  on.  And  if  they  spoke,  it  was  with  taunt,  in 
sult  and  challenge. 

Jennie's  keen  eyes  rested  on  two  vacant  chairs  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate  —  every  seat  was  crowded  save  these 
two. 

72 


THE  CURTAIN  RISES 


She  pressed  Dick's  arm. 

"  See  —  the  vacant  seats  of  South  Carolina !  " 

"  They're  not  vacant,"  the  boy  drawled. 

"They  are  — look— " 

"  I  see  a  white  figure  in  each  — " 

"  Nonsense !  " 

"  We're  going  to  have  war,  I  tell  you !  Death  sits 
in  those  chairs  to-day,  Jennie — " 

"  Sh  —  don't  talk  like  that  — " 

The  boy  laughed. 

"  I'm  not  afraid,  you  know  —  just  a  sort  of  second 
sight  —  maybe  it  means  I'll  be  killed  — " 


South  Carolina  had  felt  no  forebodings  on  the  day 
her  Convention  had  recalled  those  Senators.  Kiett  the 
eloquent  leader  of  the  Convention  sprang  to  his  feet, 
his  face  flaming  with  passion  that  was  half  delirium  as 
he  shouted: 

"  This  day  is  the  culmination  of  long  years  of  bitter 
ness,  of  suffering  and  of  struggle.  We  are  performing 
a  great  deed,  which  holds  in  its  magic  not  only  the  stir 
ring  present,  it  embraces  the  ages  yet  to  come.  I  am 
content  with  what  has  been  done  to-day.  I  shall  be 
content  with  it  to-morrow.  WTe  have  lowered  the  body 
of  the  old  Union  to  its  last  resting  place.  We  drop  the 
flag  over  its  grave." 

When  the  vote  was  announced,  without  a  single  dis 
senting  voice,  the  crowd  rose  to  their  feet  with  a 
shout  of  applause  which  shook  the  building  to  its  foun 
dations.  It  died  away  at  last  only  to  rise  again  with 
redoubled  fury. 

Alabama,  Mississippi,  Georgia  and  Florida  had  fol 
lowed  in  rapid  succession.  Louisiana's  Convention  was 
to  meet  on  the  twenty-sixth,  Texas  on  February  first. 
On  this  the  twenty-first  day  of  January  the  Senators 

73 


THE  VICTIM 


from  Florida,  Mississippi  and  Alabama  had  announced 
their  farewell  addresses  to  the  Old  Union. 

The  girl's  eyes  swept  the  crowded  tiers  of  the  gal 
leries  packed  with  beautifully  gowned  Southern  women. 
Every  glove,  fan,  handkerchief,  bonnet  or  dress  —  every 
dainty  stocking  and  filmy  piece  of  lingerie  had  been  im 
ported  direct  from  the  fashion  centers  of  Europe. 
Gowns  of  priceless  lace  and  velvets  had  been  woven  to 
order  in  the  looms  of  Genoa,  Venice  and  Brussels. 

The  South  was  rich. 

And  yet  not  one  of  her  representatives  held  his  office 
in  Washington  because  of  his  money.  Her  ruling 
classes  were  without  exception  an  aristocracy  of  brains 
—  yet  they  were  distinctly  an  aristocracy. 

The  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  wras  more  than  a 
threat  to  confiscate  three  thousand  millions  of  dollars 
which  the  South  had  invested  in  slaves.  The  homely 
rail  splitter  from  the  West  was  the  prophecy  of  a  new 
social  order  which  threatened  the  foundations  of  the 
modern  world.  He  himself  was  all  unconscious  of  this 
fact.  And  yet  this  big  reality  was  the  secret  of  the 
electric  tension  which  strangled  men  into  silence  and 
threw  over  the  scene  the  sense  of  ominous  foreboding. 

The  debates  in  Congress  during  the  tempestuous 
session  had  been  utterly  insincere  and  without  meaning. 
The  real  leaders  knew  that  the  time  for  discussion  had 
passed.  Two  absolutely  irreconcilable  moral  principles 
had  clashed  and  the  Republic  was  squarely  and  hope 
lessly  broken  into  two  vast  sectional  divisions  on  the  is 
sue. 

Beyond  the  fierce  and  uncompromising  hatred  of 
Slavery  which  had  grown  into  a  consuming  passion 
throughout  the  North  and  had  resulted  in  the  election 
of  Lincoln  as  a  purely  sectional  candidate  —  behind 
and  underneath  this  apparent  moral  rage  lay  a  bigger 
and  far  more  elemental  fact  —  the  growing  conscious- 

74 


THE  CURTAIN  RISES 


ness  of  the  laboring  man  that  the  earth  and  the  fullness 
thereof  were  his. 

And  bigger  than  the  fear  of  the  confiscation  of  their 
property  and  the  destruction  of  the  Constitution  their 
fathers  had  created  loomed  before  the  Southern  mind 
the  Specter  of  a  new  democracy  at  the  touch  of  whose 
fetid  breath  the  soul  of  culture  and  refinement  they  be 
lieved  must  die.  In  the  vulgar  ranks  of  this  democ 
racy  must  march  sooner  or  later  four  million  negroes 
but  yesterday  from  the  jungles  of  Africa. 

This  greater  issue  was  felt  but  dimly  by  the  leaders 
on  either  side  but  it  was  realized  with  sufficient  clearness 
to  make  compromise  impossible. 

In  vain  did  the  aged  and  the  feeble  plead  once  more 
for  compromise.  Real  men  no  longer  wished  it. 

The  day  of  reckoning  had  come.  The  seeds  of  this 
tragedy  were  planted  in  the  foundation  structure  of  the 
Republic. 

The  Union  of  our  fathers,  for  all  the  high  sounding 
phrases  of  its  Declaration  of  Independence  was  not  a 
democracy.  It  was  from  the  beginning  an  aristocratic 
republic  founded  squarely  on  African  Slavery.  And 
the  degraded  position  assigned  to  the  man  who  labored 
with  his  hands  was  recognized  in  our  organic  law. 

The  Constitution  itself  was  the  work  of  a  rich  and 
powerful  group  of  leaders  in  each  State,  and  its  pro 
visions  were  a  compromise  of  conflicting  sectional  prop 
erty  interests. 

The  world  had  moved  from  1789  to  1861. 

The  North  was  unconsciously  lifting  the  banner  of  a 
mighty  revolution.  The  South  was  clinging  with  the 
desperation  of  despair  to  the  faith  of  its  fathers. 

The  North  was  the  world  of  steam  and  electricity,  of 
new  ideas,  of  progress.  The  South  still  believed  in  the 
divine  inspiration  of  the  men  who  founded  the  Republic. 
They  must  believe  in  it,  for  their  racial  life  depended 

75 


THE  VICTIM 


on  it.  Four  million  negroes  could  not  be  loosed  among 
five  million  Southern  white  people  and  two  such  races 
live  side  by  side  under  the  principles  of  a  pure  democ 
racy.  Had  this  issue  been  put  to  them  in  the  begin 
ning  not  one  Southern  State  would  have  entered  the 
Union. 

The  Northern  workingman,  with  steam  and  electric 
ity  bringing  North  and  South  into  closer  and  closer 
touch,  answered  this  cry  of  fear  from  the  South  with 
the  ultimatum  of  democracy: 

"  This  Nation  can  not  endure  half  slave  and  half 
free!55 

Back  of  all  the  mouthings  of  demagogues  and  the 
billingsgate  of  sectionalists  lay  this  elemental  fact  —  a 
democracy  against  a  republic. 

Nor  could  the  sword  of  the  Sections  settle  such  an 
issue.  The  sectional  sword  could  only  settle  an  issue 
which  grew  out  of  it  —  whether  a  group  of  States  hold 
ing  a  common  interest  in  this  conflict  of  principles  could 
combine  for  their  own  peace  and  safety,  leave  the  old 
Union,  form  a  new  one  and  settle  it  in  their  own  way. 

The  North  said  no  —  the  South  said  yes.  This  con 
viction  bigger  than  party  platforms  was  the  brooding 
terror  which  brought  the  sense  of  tragedy  to  young 
and  old,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned  —  that  made 
young  men  see  visions  and  maids  dream  of  mighty  deeds. 


The  Southern  boy's  eyes  had  again  rested  on  the 
vacant  chairs  of  the  Senators  from  South  Carolina 
with  a  set  look  in  their  depths. 

The  crowd  turned  with  sudden  stir  to  the  door  of 
the  Senate  Chamber. 

"Look,"  Jennie  cried,  "that's  Mrs.  Clem  Clay  of 
Alabama  —  how  pale  and  beautiful  she  is  !  The  Sena 
tor's  going  to  make  the  speech  of  his  life  to-day.  She's 

76 


THE  CURTAIN  RISES 


scared  —  Ah,  that  dress,  that  dress  —  isn't  it  a  dream? 
Did  you  ever  see  such  a  piece  of  velvet  —  and  —  do 
look  at  that  dear  little  gold  hand  holding  the  skirt  up 
just  high  enough  to  see  the  exquisite  lace  on  her  petti 
coat  — " 

"Where's  the  golden  hand  —  I  don't  see  it?"  Dick 
broke  in  skeptically. 

"  Don't  you  see  the  chain  hanging  from  her  waist?  " 

"  Yes,  I  see  that." 

"  Follow  it  with  your  eye  and  you'll  see  the  hand. 
The  Bayard  sisters  introduced  them  from  Paris,  you 
know." 

The  boy  had  ceased  to  listen  to  Jennie's  chatter. 
His  eye  had  suddenly  rested  on  a  group  of  three  men 
seated  in  the  diplomatic  gallery  —  one  evidently  of  high 
official  position  by  the  deference  paid  him.  The  man 
on  the  left  of  the  official  was  young,  handsome,  slender, 
and  pulled  the  corners  of  his  mustache  with  a  slow  lazy 
touch  of  his  graceful  hand.  His  eyes  were  fixed  on 
Jennie  with  a  steady  gaze.  The  Minister  from  Sar 
dinia,  of  the  Court  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  sat  on  the  right, 
bowing  and  gesticulating  with  an  enthusiasm  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  conversation. 

Behind  this  group  sat  a  fourth  man  who  leaned  for 
ward  occasionally  and  whispered  to  the  official.  His 
face  was  in  shadow  and  the  only  thing  Dick  could 
see  was  the  thick  dark  brown  beard  which  covered  his 
regular  features  and  a  pair  of  piercing  black  eyes. 

"  For  heaven's  sake,  Jennie,"  the  boy  cried  at  last, 
"  who  is  that  villain  in  the  Diplomatic  gallery?  " 

"Where?" 

"  In  the  corner  there  on  the  right." 

"  Oh,  that's  the  Sardinian  Minister  —  King  Victor 
Emmanuel's  new  drummer  of  trade  for  Genoa.  He's  get 
ting  ahead  of  the  French,  too." 

"  No  —  no,  I  don't  mean  that  little  rat.  I  mean  the 

77 


THE  VICTIM 


big  fellow  with  the  heavy  jaw  and  a  face  like  a  rattle 
snake.  He's  trying  to  charm  you  too." 

Jennie  laughed. 

"  Silly !  That's  the  new  Secretary  of  War,  Joseph 
Holt." 

"A  scoundrel,  if  God  ever  made  one  — " 

"  Because  he  looks  at  me?  " 

"  No  —  that  shows  his  good  taste.  It's  the  way  he 
looks  at  you  and  moves  his  crooked  mouth  and  the  way 
he  bends  his  big  flat  head  forward." 

"  Rubbish  —  he's  a  loyal  Southerner  —  and  if  we 
have  to  fight  he'll  be  with  us." 

"  Yes  —  he  —  'will!  " 

"  Of  course,  he  will.  He's  careful  now.  He's  in  old 
Buck's  cabinet.  Wait  and  see.  He  called  on  Mr. 
Davis  last  night." 

"  That's  nothing  —  so  did  old  Seward  — " 

"  Different  —  Seward's  a  Black  Republican  from  New 
York  —  Holt's  a  Southern  Democrat  from  Missis 
sippi." 

"  And  who's  the  young  knight  by  his  side  with  the 
dear  little  mustache  to  which  he  seems  so  attached  ?  " 

Jennie  looked  in  silence  for  a  moment. 

"  I  never  saw  him  before.     He's  handsome,  isn't  he?  " 

"  Looks  to  me  like  a  young  black  snake  just  shed  his 
skin  waiting  for  that  old  adder  to  show  him  how  to 
strike." 

"  Dick  — » 

"  God  save  the  Queen !  They're  coming  here  — 
they're  coming  for  you  — " 

The  Secretary  of  War  had  nodded  in  recognition  of 
Jennie,  risen  suddenly,  and  moved  toward  the  gallery 
exit  with  his  slender  companion. 

"  Nonsense,  Dick  —  he  only  bowed  because  he  saw  me 
staring  — " 

"  He's  bringing  that  mustache  to  meet  you  — " 


THE  CURTAIN  RISES 


The  boy  turned  with  a  scowl  toward  the  door  of  their 
gallery  and  saw  the  Secretary  of  War  slowly  making 
his  way  through  the  crowd  to  their  seats. 

"  I  told  you  so  — " 

Jennie  blushed  and  smiled  in  friendly  response  to  the 
Secretary's  awkward  effort  at  Southern  politeness. 

"  Miss  Barton,  may  I  ask  a  little  favor  of  you  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  Mr.  Holt.  Allow  me  to  introduce  my 
friend,  Mr.  Welford  of  Virginia." 

The  Secretary  bowed  stiffly  and  Dick  nodded  his  head 
with  indifference. 

"  The  Italian  Minister  with  whom  I've  just  been 
talking  wishes  the  honor  of  an  introduction  for  his 
Secretary.  Miss  Jennie,  will  you  meet  him?  " 

"  Certainly  — " 

"  He's  looking  forward  to  the  possible  new  Empire 
of  the  South,"  Holt  whispered,  "  and  proposes  at  an 
early  day  to  forestall  the  French  — " 

Dick  threw  him  a  look  of  scorn  as  he  returned  to  the 
door  and  rose  with  a  scowl. 

"  I'll  go  out  and  get  fresh  air." 

"Don't  go—" 

"  I  can't  breathe  in  here.  Two's  company  and 
three's  a  crowd." 

She  seized  his  arm: 

"  Please  sit  down,  Dick." 

"  I'll  be  back  directly  — " 

In  spite  of  her  protest  he  bounded  up  the  steps  of 
the  gallery,  turned  sharply  to  the  right,  avoided  the 
intruders  and  disappeared  in  the  crowd. 

The  Secretary  of  War  bowed  again: 

"  Miss  Barton,  permit  me  to  introduce  to  you  Signor 
Henrico  Socola,  Secretary  to  His  Excellency,  the  Min 
ister  of  Sardinia." 

The  slender  figure  bent  low  with  an  easy  grace. 

"  Pleased  to  meet  you,  Signor  Socola,"  Jennie  re- 

79 


THE  VICTIM 


sponded,   lifting  the   heavy   lashes    from   her   lustrous 
brown  eyes  with  the  slightest  challenge  to  his. 

"  The  pleasure  is  all  mine,  Mad'moiselle,"  he  gravely 
replied. 

"  You'll  excuse  me  now  if  I  hurry  on  ?  "  the  Secre 
tary  said,  again  bowing  and  disappearing  in  the 
crowd. 

"  Mr.  Holt  tells  me,  Miss  Barton,  that  you  know 
every  Senator  on  the  floor." 

"  Yes.  My  father  has  been  in  Congress  and  the 
Senate  for  twenty  years." 

"  You'll  explain  the  drama  to  me  to-day  when  the 
curtain  rises?  " 

"  If  I  can." 

"  I'll  be  so  much  obliged  — "  he  paused  and  the  even 
white  teeth  smiled  pleasantly.  "  I'm  pretty  well  up  on 
American  history  but  confess  a  little  puzzled  to-day. 
Your  Southern  Senators  are  really  going  to  surrender 
their  power  here  without  a  struggle?  " 

"What  do  you  mean?"  the  girl  asked  with  a  slight 
frown. 

"  That  your  Democratic  party  has  still  a  majority 
in  both  the  House  and  the  Senate.  If  the  Southern 
members  simply  sit  still  in  their  places,  the  incoming 
administration  of  Abraham  Lincoln  will  be  absolutely 
powerless.  The  new  President  can  not  even  call  a 
cabinet  to  his  side  without  their  consent." 

"  The  North  has  elected  their  President,"  Jennie 
answered  with  decision.  "  The  South  scorns  to  stoop 
to  the  dishonor  of  cheating  them  out  of  it.  They've 
won  the  election.  They  can  have  it.  The  South  will 
go  and  build  a  government  of  her  own  —  as  we  built 
this  one — " 

"  And  fight  twenty-three  million  people  of  the 
North?" 

"  If  forced  to  —  yes  !  " 

80 


THE  CURTAIN  RISES 


"  With  the  certainty  of  an  uprising  of  your  slaves 
at  home?  " 

Jennie  laughed. 

"  Our  slaves  would  fight  for  us  if  we'd  let  them  — " 

A  curious  smile  twitched  the  lips  of  the  Italian. 

"  You  speak  with  great  confidence,  Miss  Barton !  " 

"  Yes.     I  know  what  I'm  talking  about." 

The  keen  eyes  watched  her  from  the  shadows  of  the 
straight  thick  brows. 

"  And  your  Senators  who  took  a  solemn  oath  in  en 
tering  this  Chamber  to  support  the  Constitution  will 
leave  their  seats  in  violation  of  that  oath?  " 

The  Southern  girl  flushed,  turned  with  quick  purpose 
to  answer,  laughed  and  said  with  winning  frankness : 

"  You  don't  mind  if  I  give  you  my  father's  answer  in 
his  own  words  ?  I  know  them  by  heart  — " 

"  By  all  means." 

"  An  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  does  not  bind  the  man  who  takes  it  to  support 
an  administration  elected  by  a  mob  whose  purpose  is 
to  subvert  the  Constitution  !  " 

"  Oh, —  I  see,"  was  the  quiet  response. 

"  You  speak  English  with  perfection,  Signor ! " 
Jennie  said  with  a  smile. 

"  Yes,  Mad'moiselle,  I've  spent  my  life  in  the  Diplo 
matic  service." 

He  bowed  gravely,  lifted  his  head  and  caught  the 
smile  on  the  lips  of  the  Secretary  of  War  standing  in 
the  shadows  of  the  doorway  of  the  Diplomatic  gallery. 

The  stately  figure  of  John  C.  Breckinridge,  the  Vice- 
President,  suddenly  mounted  the  dais  and  his  piercing 
eyes  swept  the  assembly.  He  rapped  for  order  and 
the  silence  which  followed  was  as  the  hush  of  death. 

"  The  curtain  rises  on  our  drama,  Mad'moiselle,"  the 
smooth  even  voice  said. 

"  Sh !  "  the  girl  whispered. 
7 


CHAPTER  II 
THE    PARTING 

The  breathless  galleries  leaned  forward  to. catch  the 
slightest  sound  from  the  arena  below. 

One  by  one  the  Senators  from  the  seceding  Southern 
States  rose  and  renounced  their  allegiance  to  the  United 
States  in  obedience  to  the  voice  of  their  people. 

With  each  solemn  exit  the  women  of  the  galleries 
grew  hysterical,  waved  their  perfumed  handkerchiefs 
and  shouted  their  approval  with  cries  of  sympathy  and 
admiration. 

David  Yulee,  Stephen  K.  Mallory  and  Ben j  amin  Fitz- 
patrick  had  each  closed  his  portfolio  and  with  slow 
measured  tread  marched  down  the  crowded  aisle  and  out 
of  the  Chamber  never  again  to  enter  its  doors. 

All  eyes  were  focused  now  on  the  brilliant  young 
Senator  from  Alabama,  Clement  C.  Clay,  Jr.  It  was 
understood  that  he  had  prepared  an  eloquent  defense  of 
his  action  and  would  voice  the  passionate  feeling  of  the 
masses  of  the  Southern  people  in  this  his  last  utterance 
in  the  crumbling  temple  of  the  old  Republic. 

He  rose  in  his  place,  lifted  his  strong  head  with  its 
leonine  locks  and  broad,  high  forehead,  paused  a  mo 
ment  and  began  his  speech  in  the  clear  steady  tones  of 
the  trained  orator,  master  of  himself,  his  theme  and  his 
audience.  The  Northern  Senators  met  his  gaze  with 
scorn  and  he  answered  with  a  look  of  bold  defiance. 

The  formal  announcement  of  the  secession  of  his 
State  he  made  in  brief  sharp  sentences  and  plunged  at 
once  into  the  reasons  for  their  solemn  act. 

82 


THE  PARTING 


"  Forty-two  years  ago,  Alabama  was  admitted  into 
the  Union,"  he  declared  in  ringing  tones.  "  She  en 
tered  it  as  she  goes  out,  with  the  Republic  convulsed  by 
the  hostility  of  the  North  to  her  domestic  institutions. 
Not  a  decade  has  passed,  not  a  year  has  elapsed  since, 
her  birth  as  a  State  that  has  not  been  marked  by  the 
steady  and  insolent  growth  of  the  mob  violence  of  the 
North  which  has  demanded  the  confiscation  of  her  prop 
erty  and  the  destruction  of  the  foundations  of  her  civil 
ization. 

"  Who  are  the  leaders  of  these  mobs  who  seek  thus 
to  overthrow  the  Constitution?  Who  are  these  hypo 
crites  who  claim  the  championship  of  freedom  and  the 
moral  leadership  of  the  world? 

"  The  men  who  sold  their  own  slaves  to  us  because 
they  could  not  use  them  with  profit  in  a  northern  cli 
mate;  the  men  who  built  and  manned  every  American 
slave  ship  that  ever  sailed  the  seas ;  the  sons  of  old 
Peter  Faneuil  of  Boston  who  built  Faneuil  Hall,  their 
cradle  of  liberty,  out  of  the  profits  of  slave  ships  whose 
trade  the  Southern  people  had  forbidden  by  law;  the 
men  who  have  flooded  Congress  for  two  generations  with 
petitions  to  dissolve  the  Union ;  the  men  who  threatened 
to  secede  with  the  addition  of  every  foot  of  territory 
we  have  added  to  our  Republic ! 

"  These  are  the  men  who  have  denied  to  the  manhood 
of  the  South  Christian  Communion  because  they  could 
not  endure  what  they  have  been  pleased  to  style  the 
moral  leprosy  of  Slavery !  These  are  the  men  who  re 
fuse  us  permission  to  sojourn  or  even  pass  through  the 
sacred  precincts  of  a  Northern  State  and  dare  to  carry 
our  servants  with  us.  These  are  the  men  who  deny  to 
the  South  equal  rights  in  the  lands  of  the  West  bought 
by  Southern  blood  and  brains  and  added  to  our  inherit 
ance  against  their  furious  protests.  These  are  the  men 
who  burn  the  sacred  charters  of  American  Liberty  in 

83 


THE  VICTIM 


their  public  squares,  and  inscribe  on  their  banners  the 
foul  motto : 

"  '  The  Constitution  is  an  agreement  with  Death,  a 
covenant  with  Hell.' 

"  These  are  the  men  who  dare  to  call  us  traitors ! 
These  are  the  men  who  have  deliberately  passed  laws  in 
fourteen  Northern  States  nullifying  the  provisions  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  Union  which  they  have  sworn 
to  defend  and  enforce  — " 

The  speaker  paused  and  lifted  high  above  his  head  a 
little  morocco  bound  volume. 

"  Here  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God  —  the  God 
of  our  fathers,  and  these  witnesses,  I  read  its  solemn 
provisions  which  the  laws  of  fourteen  Northern  States 
have  brazenly  and  openly  defied !  " 

He  opened  the  little  book  and  slowly  read : 

"  «  Article  4,  Section  2. 

"  *  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State, 
under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall 
in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  dis 
charged  from  such  service  or  labor — but  shall  be  de 
livered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service 
or  labor  may  be  due.' ' 

He  turned  suddenly  to  the  Northern  Senators : 

"  Your  States  have  not  only  repudiated  the  Constitu 
tion  you  have  sworn  to  uphold,  but  your  emissaries 
have  invaded  the  peaceful  South  and  sought  to  lay  it 
waste  with  fire  and  sword  and  servile  insurrection.  You 
have  murdered  Southern  men  who  have  dared  demand 
their  rights  on  Northern  soil.  You  have  invaded  the 
borders  of  Southern  States,  burned  their  dwellings  and 
murdered  their  people.  You  have  proclaimed  John 
Brown,  the  criminal  maniac  who  sought  to  murder  in 
nocent  and  helpless  men,  women  and  children  in  Vir 
ginia,  a  hero  and  martyr  and  then  denounced  us  in  your 
popular  meetings,  your  religious  and  legislative,  assem- 

84. 


THE  PARTING 


blies  as  habitual  violators  of  the  laws  of  God  and  the 
rights  of  humanity!  You  have  exerted  all  the  moral 
and  physical  agencies  that  human  ingenuity  can  devise 
or  a  devil's  malice  employ  to  heap  odium  and  infamy 
upon  us  and  make  the  very  name  of  the  South  a  by 
word  of  hissing  and  of  scorn  throughout  the  civilized 
world  — " 

He  paused  overcome  with  emotion  and  lifted  his  hand 
to  stay  the  burst  of  applause  from  the  galleries. 

"  We  have  borne  all  this  for  long  years  and  might 
have  borne  it  many  more  under  the  assurance  of  our 
Northern  friends  that  such  fanaticism  does  not  repre 
sent  the  true  heart  of  the  Northern  people.  But  the 
fallacy  of  these  promises  and  the  folly  of  our  hopes 
have  been  too  clearly  proven  in  the  late  election.  The 
platform  of  the  political  party  on  which  you  have  swept 
every  Northern  State  and  elected  a  sectional  President 
is  a  foul  libel  upon  our  character  and  a  declaration  of 
open  war  on  the  lives  and  property  of  the  Southern 
people. 

"  In  defiance  of  the  Constitution  which  protects  our 
rights  your  mob  has  decreed  the  confiscation  of  three 
thousand  million  dollars'  worth  of  our  property.  If  we 
claim  the  protection  of  our  common  law,  your  mob 
solemnly  burns  the  Constitution  in  your  public  squares 
and  denounces  it  as  '  an  agreement  with  Death  and  cov 
enant  with  Hell.'  We  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  Republic  and  when  its  Judges  unanimously  sustain 
our  position  on  every  point,  your  mob  cries : 

"  '  Down  with  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States ! ' 

"  You  have  not  only  insulted  us  as  unchristian  and 
heathen,  you  have  proclaimed  that  four  million  igno 
rant  negroes  but  yesterday  taken  from  the  savagery  of 
cannibal  Africa  are  our  equals  and  entitled  to  share  in 
the  solemn  rights  of  American  citizenship.  Your  dec- 

85 


THE  VICTIM 


laration  is  an  open  summons  that  they  rise  in  insur 
rection  with  the  knife  in  one  hand  and  the  torch  in  the 
other. 

"  Your  mob  has  declared  the  South  outlawed, 
branded  with  ignominy,  consigned  to  execration  and 
ultimate  destruction.  Your  mob  has  decreed  the  death 
of  Slavery  and  sends  the  new  President  to  execute  their 
decree. 

"All  right — kill  Slavery  and  then  what?  Kill 
Slavery  and  what  will  you  do  with  its  corpse?  Who 
shall  deliver  us  from  the  body  of  this  death?  We  are 
not  leaving  this  Hall  to  fight  for  the  institution  of 
African  Slavery.  The  grim  specter  of  a  degraded  and 
mongrel  citizenship  which  lies  back  of  your  mob's 
programme  of  confiscation  is  the  force  that  is 
driving  the  Southern  people  out  of  the  Union  to  find 
peace  and  safety.  WThatever  may  be  the  sins  of  Slavery 
in  the  South  they  are  as  nothing  when  compared  to  the 
degradation  of  your  life  which  must  follow  their  vio 
lent  emancipation.  The  Southern  white  man  is  slowly 
lifting  the  African  out  of  barbarism  into  the  light  of 
Christian  civilization.  In  our  own  good  time  we  will 
emancipate  him  and  start  him  on  a  new  life  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  our  Republic.  Whatever  may  be  the 
differences  of  opinion  in  the  South  on  the  institution 
of  slavery  —  there  is  no  difference  and  there  has  never 
been  on  one  point  —  it  was  true  yesterday  —  it  is  true 
to-day  —  it  will  be  true  to-morrow  —  Slavery  is  the 
only  modus  viviendi  by  which  two  such  races  as  the 
Negro  and  the  Aryan  can  live  side  by  side  in  a  free 
democracy  with  equality  the  law  of  its  life  — " 

Again  a  burst  of  tumultuous  applause  swept  the  gal 
lery. 

"  The  issue  is  clear  cut  and  terrible  in  its  simplicity 
—  the  South  stands  on  the  faith  of  our  fathers  who 
created  this  Republic.  The  South  stands  for  Consti- 

86 


THE  PARTING 


tutional  freedom  under  the  forms  of  established  law. 
The  North  has  lifted  the  red  flag  of  revolution  and  pro 
claims  the  irresponsible  despotisms  of  an  enthroned  mob ! 

"  For  a  generation  your  school  mistresses  have  been 
training  your  boys  to  hate  us  and  arming  them  to  fight 
us.  Make  no  mistake  about  this  movement  to-day. 
We  who  go  are  but  the  servants  of  those  who  sent 
us.  They  now  recall  their  ambassadors,  and  we  obey 
their  sovereign  will.  Make  no  mistake  about  it.  The}^ 
are  not  a  brave  and  rash  people,  deluded  by  bad  men, 
who  are  attempting  in  an  illegal  way  to  wreck  the 
Union.  They  seek  peace  and  safety  outside  driven  by 
the  Rebellion  against  Law  and  Order  within. 

"Are  we  more  or  less  than  men?  Can  we  love  our 
enemies  and  bless  them  that  curse  and  revile  us?  Are 
we  devoid  of  the  sensibilities,  the  sentiments,  the  pas 
sions,  the  reason,  and  the  instincts  of  mankind?  Have 
we  no  pride,  no  honor,  no  sense  of  shame,  no  reverence 
for  our  ancestors,  no  care  for  posterity,  no  love  for 
home,  or  family  or  friends?  Must  we  quail  before  the 
onion  breath  of  an  enthroned  'mob,  confess  our  baseness, 
discredit  the  fame  of  our  sires,  degrade  our  children, 
abandon  our  homes,  flee  from  our  country  and  dis 
honor  ourselves  —  all  for  the  sake  of  a  Union  whose 
Constitution  you  have  publicly  burned  and  whose  Su 
preme  Court  you  have  spit  upon? 

"  Shall  we  consent  to  live  under  an  administration 
controlled  by  those  who  not  only  deny  us  justice  and 
equality  and  brand  us  as  infamous,  but  boldly  proclaim 
their  purpose  to  rob  us  of  our  property  and  destroy  our 
civilization  ? 

'*  The  freemen  of  Alabama  have  proclaimed  to  the 
world  they  will  not.  In  their  sovereign  power  they 
have  recalled  me.  As  their  servant  I  go !  " 

With  a  wave  of  his  hand  in  an  imperious  gesture  of 
defiance  to  the  silent  Senators  of  the  North,  amid 

87 


THE  VICTIM 


a  scene  of  unparalleled  passion,  the  speaker  turned  to 
his  seat,  gathered  his  books  and  papers  and  strode  with 
quick  firm  step  down  the  aisle. 

Jennie  had  leaped  to  her  feet  and  stood  clapping  her 
hands  in  a  frenzy  of  excitement,  unconscious  of  the 
existence  of  the  strangely  quiet  young  man  by  her  side. 

He  rose  and  stood  smiling  into  her  flushed  face  as 
she  gasped: 

"  A  wonderful  speech  —  wasn't  it?  " 

"  They  say  the  South  has  never  lacked  audacity, 
Miss  Barton.  I'm  wondering  if  they  are  really  going 
to  make  good  such  words  with  deeds." 

He  spoke  with  a  cold  detachment  that  chilled  and 
angered  the  impulsive  girl.  A  hot  answer  was  on  her 
lips  when  she  remembered  suddenly  that  he  was  a  for 
eigner. 

"  Of  course,  Signer,  you  can  not  understand  our 
feelings !  " 

"On  the  other  hand,  I  assure  you,  I  do  —  I'm  just 
wondering  in  a  cold  intellectual  way  whether  the  ora 
torical  temperament  —  the  temperament  of  passion,  of 
righteous  wrath  of  the  explosive  type  which  we  have 
just  witnessed,  will  win  in  the  trial  by  fire  which  war 
will  bring  — " 

"You  doubt  our  courage?"  she  interrupted,  with  a 
slight  curve  of  the  proud  little  lips. 

"  Far  from  it  —  I  assure  you !  I'm  only  wondering 
if  it  has  the  sullen,  dogged,  staying  qualities  these  stolid 
Northern  men  down  there  have  exhibited  while  they 
listened  — " 

The  girl  threw  him  a  quick  surprised  look  and  he 
stopped.  His  voice  had  unconsciously  taken  the  tones 
of  a  soliloquy. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Miss  Barton,"  he  said,  with 
sudden  swing  to  the  polite  tones  of  society.  "  I'm  an 
noying  you  with  my  foreign  speculations  — " 

88 


THE  PARTING 


A  sudden  murmur  swept  the  galleries  and  all  eyes  were 
turned  on  the  tall  slender  figure  of  Jefferson  Davis  as 
he  slowly  entered  the  Senate  Chamber. 

"  Who  is  it?  "  Socola  asked. 

"  Senator  Davis  —  you  don't  know  him?  " 

"  I  have  never  seen  him  before.  He  has  been  quite 
ill  I  hear." 

"  Yes.  He's  been  in  bed  for  the  past  week  suffering 
agonies  from  neuralgia.  He  lost  the  sight  of  one  of 
his  eyes  from  chronic  pain  caused  by  exposure  in  the 
service  of  his  country  in  the  northwest." 

"  Really  —  I  didn't  know  that." 

"  He  was  compelled  to  remain  in  a  darkened  room 
for  months  the  past  year  to*  save  the  sight  of  his  re 
maining  eye." 

"  That  accounts  for  my  not  having  seen  him  be 
fore." 

Socola  followed  the  straight  military  figure  with 
painful  interest  as  he  slowly  moved  toward  his 
seat  greeting  with  evident  weakness  his  colleagues  as 
he  passed.  He  was  astonished  beyond  measure  at  the 
personality  of  the  famous  leader  of  the  "  Southern  Con 
spirators  "  of  whom  he  had  heard  so  much.  He  was 
the  last  man  in  all  the  crowd  he  would  have  singled  out 
for  such  a  role.  The  face  was  too  refined,  too  spiritual, 
too  purely  intellectual  for  the  man  of  revolution.  His 
high  forehead,  straight  nose,  thin  compressed  lips  and 
pointed  chin  belonged  to  the  poet  and  dreamer  rather 
than  the  man  of  action.  The  hollow  cheek  bones  and 
deeply  furrowed  mouth  told  of  suffering  so  acute  the 
sympathy  of  every  observer  was  instantly  won. 

In  spite  of  evident  suffering  his  carriage  was  erect, 
dignified,  and  graceful.  The  one  trait  which  fastened 
the  attention  from  the  first  and  held  it  was  the  remark 
able  intensity  of  expression  which  clothed  his  thin  mus 
cular  face. 

89 


THE  VICTIM 


"  You  like  him?  "  Jennie  ventured  at  last. 

"  I  can't  say,  Miss  Barton,"  was  the  slowly  measured 
answer.  "  He  is  a  remarkably  interesting  man.  I'm 
surprised  and  puzzled  — " 

"  Surprised  and  puzzled  at  what?  " 

"  Well,  you  see  I  know  his  history.  The  diplomatist 
makes  it  his  business  to  know  the  facts  in  the  lives  of  the 
leaders  of  a  nation  to  whose  Government  he  is  accred 
ited.  Mr.  Davis  spent  four  years  at  West  Point. 
He  gave  seven  years  of  his  life  to  the  service  of  the 
army  in  the  West.  He  carried  your  flag  to  victory  in 
Mexico  and  hobbled  home  on  crutches.  He  was  one  of 
your  greatest  Secretaries  of  War.  He  sent  George  B. 
McClellan  and  Robert  E.  Lee  to  the  Crimea  to  master 
European  warfare,  organized  and  developed  your  army, 
changed  the  model  of  your  arms,  introduced  the  rifled 
musket  and  the  minie  ball.  He  explored  your  Western 
Empire  and  surveyed  the  lines  of  the  great  continental 
railways  you  are  going  to  build  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
He  planned  and  built  your  system  of  waterworks  in  the 
city  of  Washington  and  superintends  now  the  exten 
sion  of  the  Capitol  building  which  will  make  it  the  most 
imposing  public  structure  in  the  world.  He  has  never 
stooped  to  play  the  part  of  a  demagogue.  He  has 
never  sought  an  office  higher  than  the  role  of  Senator 
wrhich  fits  his  character  and  temperament.  His  mind 
has  always  been  busy  dreaming  of  the  imperial  future 
of  your  widening  Republic.  His  eye  has  seen  the  vision 
of  its  extension  to  the  Arctic  on  the  north  and  the 
jungles  of  Panama  on  the  south.  Why  should  such  a 
man  deliberately  come  into  this  chamber  to-day  before 
this  assembled  crowd  and  commit  hari-kari?  " 

"  He's  a  true  son  of  the  South ! "  Jennie  Barton 
proudly  answered. 

"  Even  so,  how  can  he  do  the  astounding  thing  he 
proposes  to  carry  out  to-day?  His  record  shows  that 

90 


THE  PARTING 


passionate  devotion  to  the  Union  has  been  the  very 
breath  of  his  life.  I've  memorized  one  of  his  outbursts 
as  a  model  of  your  English  language  — " 

Jennie  laughed. 

"  I  never  heard  of  his  Union  speeches,  I'm  sure !  " 

"  Strange  that  your  people  have  forgotten  them. 
Listen :  '  From  sire  to  son  has  descended  the  love  of 
the  Union  in  our  hearts,  as  in  our  history  are  mingled 
the  names  of  Concord  and  Camden,  of  Yorktown  and 
Saratoga,  of  New  Orleans  and  Bunker  Hill.  Together 
they  form  a  monument  to  the  common  glory  of  our 
common  country.  Where  is  the  Southern  man  who 
would  wish  that  monument  less  by  one  Northern  name 
that  constitutes  the  mass?  Who,  standing  on  the 
ground  made  sacred  by  the  blood  of  Warren,  could 
allow  sectional  feeling  to  curb  his  enthusiasm  as  he 
looks  upon  that  obelisk  which  rises  a  monument  to  free 
dom's  and  his  country's  triumph,  and  stands  a  type  of 
the  time,  the  men  and  the  event  it  commemorates ;  built 
of  material  that  mocks  the  waves  of  time,  without  niche 
or  molding  for  parasite  or  creeping  thing  to  rest  upon, 
pointing  like  a  finger  to  the  sky  to  raise  man's  thoughts 
to  high  and  noble  deeds  ! '  ' 

Socola  paused  and  turned  his  dark  eyes  on  Jennie's 
upturned  face. 

"  How  can  the  man  who  made  that  speech  in  Boston 
do  this  mad  deed  to-day?  " 

"  Senator  Clay  has  given  the  answer,"  was  the  girl's 
quick  reply. 

"  For  Senator  Clay,  yes  —  the  fiery,  impulsive,  pas 
sionate  child  of  emotion.  But  this  thin  hollow-cheeked 
student,  thinker  and  philosopher,  who  spoke  the  thrill 
ing  words  I  quote  —  he  should  belong  to  the  order  of 
the  Prophet  and  the  Seer  —  the  greatest  leaders  and 
teachers  of  history." 

"  We  believe  he  does,  Signer !  "  was  the  quick  an- 

91 


THE  VICTIM 


swer.  "  Look  —  he's  going  to  speak  —  you'll  hear  him 
now." 

Jennie  leaned  forward,  her  thoughtful  little  chin  in 
both  hands,  as  a  silence  so  intense  it  was  pain  fell  sud 
denly  on  the  hushed  assembly. 

The  face  of  the  Southern  leader  was  chalk  white  in 
its  pallor.  His  first  sentences  were  weak  and  scarcely 
reached  beyond  the  circle  of  his  immediate  hearers. 
His  physician  had  forbidden  him  to  leave  his  room. 
The  iron  will  had  risen  to  perform  a  solemn  duty. 
The  Senators  leaned  forward  in  their  arm-chairs  fearful 
of  losing  a  word. 

He  paused  as  if  for  breath  and  gazed  a  moment  on 
the  upturned  faces  with  the  look  of  lingering  tender 
ness  which  the  dying  cast  on  those  upon  wrhom  they 
gaze  for  the  last  time. 

His  figure  suddenly  rose  to  its  full  height,  as  if 
the  soul  within  had  thrust  the  feeble  body  aside  to 
speak  its  message.  His  words,  full,  clear  and  musi 
cal  rang  to  the  furthest  listener  craning  his  neck 
through  the  jammed  doorways  of  the  galleries.  Never 
was  the  music  of  the  human  voice  more  profoundly 
appealing.  Unshed  tears  were  in  its  throbbing  tones. 

There  was  no  straining  for  effect  —  no  outburst  of 
emotion.  The  impression  which  reached  the  audience 
was  the  sense  of  restraint  and  the  consciousness  of  his 
unlimited  reserve  power.  Back  of  the  simple  clean-cut 
words  which  fell  in  musical  cadence  from  his  white  lips 
was  the  certainty  that  he  was  only  speaking  a  small 
part  of  what  he  felt,  saw  and  knew.  He  neither 
stormed  nor  raved  and  yet  he  filled  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers  with  unspeakable  passion. 

He  turned  suddenly  and  bent  his  piercing  single  eye 
on  the  Northern  Senators: 

"  I  hope  none  who  hear  me  will  confound  my  position 
with  the  advocacy  of  the  right  of  a  State  to  remain  in 

92 


THE  PARTING 


the  Union  and  disregard  its  Constitutional  obligations 
by  the  nullification  of  the  law  — " 

A  sudden  cheer  swept  the  tense  galleries.  The 
sergeant-at-arms  called  for  order.  The  cheer  rose 
again.  The  Vice-President  rapped  for  silence  and 
threatened  to  close  the  galleries.  The  speaker  lifted 
his  hand  and  commanded  silence. 

"  It  was  because  of  his  deep  attachment  to  the  Union 
—  his  determination  to  find  some  remedy  for  existing 
ills  short  of  a  severance  of  the  ties  which  bound  South 
Carolina  to  the  other  States  —  that  John  C.  Calhoun 
advocated  the  doctrine  of  nullification  which  he  pro 
claimed  to  be  peaceful  and  within  the  limits  of  State 
power. 

"  Secession  belongs  to  a  different  class  of  remedies. 
It  is  to  be  justified  upon  the  basis  that  the  States  are 
sovereign.  There  was  a  time  when  none  denied  it. 
The  phrase  '  to  execute  the  laws  '  General  Jackson  ap 
plied  to  a  State  refusing  to  obey  the  law  while  yet  a 
member  of  the  Union.  You  may  make  war  on  a  foreign 
state.  If  it  be  the  purpose  of  gentlemen  — " 

He  paused  and  again  his  eagle  eye  swept  the  tiers  of 
Northern  Senators. 

"  You  may  make  war  against  a  State  which  has 
withdrawn  from  the  Union ;  but  there  are  no  laws  of  the 
United  States  to  be  executed  within  the  limits  of  a 
seceded  State — " 

Seward  leaned  forward  in  his  seat  and  shook  his 
head  in  grave  dissent.  The  speaker  bent  his  gaze 
directly  upon  his  great  antagonist  and  spoke  with 
strange  regretful  tenderness. 

"  A  State  finding  herself  in  a  condition  in  which 
Mississippi  has  judged  she  is  —  in  which  her  safety 
requires  that  she  should  provide  for  the  maintenance 
of  her  rights  out  of  the  Union  —  surrenders  all  the 
benefits  (and  they  are  known  to  be  many),  deprives 

93 


THE  VICTIM 


herself  of  all  the  advantages  (and  they  are  known  to 
be  great),  severs  all  the  ties  of  affections  (and  they  are 
close  and  enduring)  which  have  bound  her  to  the  Union ; 
and  thus  divesting  herself  of  every  benefit  —  taking 
upon  herself  every  burden  —  she  claims  to  be  exempt 
from  any  power  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
within  her  limits. 

"  When  Massachusetts  was  arraigned  before  the  bar 
of  the  Senate  for  her  refusal  to  permit  the  execution  of 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  within  her  borders,  my 
opinion  was  the  same  then  as  now.  Her  State  is  sover 
eign.  She  never  delegated  to  the  Federal  Government 
the  power  to  drive  her  by  force.  And  when  she  chooses 
to  take  the  last  step  which  separates  her  from  the 
Union,  it  is  her  right  to  go !  — " 

Another  electric  wave  swept  the  crowd  that  burst 
into  applause.  The  speaker  lifted  his  long  arm  with 
an  impatient  gesture. 

"  And  I  would  not  vote  one  dollar  nor  one  man  to 
coerce  her  back  into  unwilling  submission.  I  would 
say  to  her  — '  God  speed  in  the  memory  of  the  kind 
associations  which  once  existed  between  her  and  her 
sister  States.' 

"  It  has  been  a  conviction  of  pressing  necessity  —  a 
belief  that  we  are  to  be  deprived  in  the  Union  of  the 
rights  which  our  fathers  bequeathed  us  —  which  has 
brought  Mississippi  to  her  present  decision. 

"  You  have  invoked  the  sacred  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  as  the  basis  of  an  attack  upon  her  social 
order.  The  Declaration  of  Independence  is  to  be  con 
strued  by  the  circumstances  and  purposes  for  which  it 
wras  made.  It  was  written  by  a  Southern  planter  and 
slave  owner.  The  Colonies  were  declaring  their  inde 
pendence  from  foreign  tyranny  —  were  asserting  in  the 
language  of  Jefferson,  '  that  no  man  was  born  booted 
and  spurred  to  ride  over  the  rest  of  mankind ;  that  men 

94 


THE  PARTING 


were  created  equal ' —  meaning  the  men  of  their  Amer 
ican  political  community;  that  there  was  no  divine 
right  to  rule;  that  no  man  could  inherit  the  right  to 
govern ;  that  there  were  no  classes  by  which  power  and 
place  descended  from  father  to  son ;  but  that  all 
stations  were  equally  within  the  grasp  of  each  member 
of  the  body  politic.  These  were  the  principles  they 
announced. 

"  They  had  no  reference  to  a  slave.  The  same  docu 
ment  denounced  George  III  for  the  crime  of  attempting 
to  stir  their  slaves  to  insurrection,  as  John  Brown  at 
tempted  at  Harper's  Ferry.  If  their  Declaration  of 
Independence  announced  that  negroes  were  free  and  the 
equals  of  English  citizens  how  could  the  Prince  be  ar 
raigned  for  daring  to  raise  servile  insurrection  among 
them?  And  how  should  this  be  named  among  the  high 
crimes  of  George  III  which  caused  the  Colonies  to  sever 
their  connection  with  the  Mother  country? 

"  If  slaves  were  declared  our  equals  how  did  it  happen 
that  in  the  organic  law  of  the  Union  they  were  given  a 
lower  caste  and  their  population  allowed  (and  that  only 
through  the  dominant  race)  a  basis  of  three-fifths  rep 
resentation  in  Congress?  So  stands  the  compact  of 
Union  which  binds  us  together. 

"  We  stand  upon  the  principles  on  which  our  Govern 
ment  was  founded !  — " 

The  sentence  rang  clear  and  thrilling  as  the  peal  of 
a  trumpet.  The  effect  was  electric.  The  galleries 
leaped  to  their  feet  and  cheered. 

Jennie  turned  to  the  silent  diplomat. 

"  Isn't  he  glorious  !  " 

"  He  stirs  the  hearts  of  men  " —  was  the  even  answer. 

Around  them  were  unmistakable  evidences.  Women 
were  weeping  hysterically  and  men  embracing  one  an 
other  in  silence  and  tears. 

Again  the  Senator's  hand  was  lifted  high  in  com- 

95 


THE  VICTIM 


mand  for  silence  and  again  he  faced  Seward  and  his 
Northern  colleagues  with  figure  tense,  erect. 

"  When  you  repudiate  these  principles,  and  when 
you  deny  to  us  the  right  to  withdraw  from  a  Govern 
ment  which,  thus  perverted,  threatens  to  destroy  our 
rights,  we  but  tread  the  path  of  our  fathers  when  we 
proclaim  our  independence  and  take  the  hazard !  " 

Again  a  cheer  and  shout  which  the  Vice-President's 
gavel  could  not  quell.  When  the  murmur  at  last  died 
away  the  speaker's  voice  had  dropped  to  low  appealing 
tenderness. 

"  We  do  this,  Senators,  not  in  hostility  to  others, 
not  to  injure  any  section  of  our  common  country, 
not  for  our  own  pecuniary  benefit,  but  from  the  high 
and  solemn  motive  of  defending  and  protecting  the 
rights  we  inherited,  which  we  will  transmit  unshorn  to 
our  children.  We  seek  outside  the  Union  that  peace, 
with  dignity  and  honor,  which  we  can  no  longer  find 
within. 

"  I  trust  I  find  myself  a  type  of  the  general  feeling  of 
my  constituents  towards  yours.  I  am  sure  I  feel  no 
hostility  toward  you,  Senators  from  the  North  — " 

He  paused  and  swept  the  Northern  tiers  with  a  look 
of  tender  appeal. 

"  I  am  sure  there  is  not  one  of  you,  whatever  sharp 
discussion  there  may  have  been  between  us,  to  whom  I 
can  not  now  say  in  the  presence  of  my  God,  I  wish  you 
well!" 

Seward  turned  his  head  from  the  speaker,  his  eyes 
dimmed  —  the  scheming  diplomat  and  unscrupulous 
politician  lost  in  the  heart  of  the  man  for  the  moment. 

"  Sueh  I  am  sure  is  the  feeling  of  the  people  whom  I 
represent  toward  those  whom  you  represent.  I  but 
express  their  desire  when  I  say  I  hope  and  they  hope 
for  peaceful  relations  with  you,  though  we  must 
part  — " 

96 


THE  PARTING 


He  paused  as  if  to  suppress  emotions  too  deep  for 
words  while  a  silence,  intense  and  suffocating,  held  the 
crowd  in  a  spell.  The  speaker's  voice  dropped  to  still 
lower  and  softer  notes  of  persuasive  tenderness  as  each 
rounded  word  of  the  next  sentence  fell  slowly  from  the 
thin  lips. 

"  If  war  must  come,  we  can  only  invoke  the  God  of 
our  fathers,  who  delivered  us  from  the  power  of  the 
lion,  to  protect  us  from  the  ravages  of  the  bear,  and 
putting  our  trust  in  Him  and  in  our  firm  hearts  and 
strong  arms  we  will  vindicate  the  right  as  best  we 
may  — " 

No  cheer  greeted  this  solemn  utterance.  Tn  the  pause 
which  followed,  the  speaker  deliberately  gazed  over  the 
familiar  faces  of  his  Northern  opponents  and  continued 
with  a  suppressed  intensity  of  feeling  that  gripped  his 
bitterest  foe. 

"  In  the  course  of  my  service  here,  associated  at  dif 
ferent  times  with  a  great  variety  of  Senators,  I  see 
now  around  me  some  with  whom  I  have  served  long. 
There  have  been  points  of  collision,  but,  whatever  of 
fense  there  has  been  to  me,  I  leave  here.  I  carry  with 
me  no  hostile  remembrance.  For  whatever  offense  I 
may  have  given  which  has  not  been  redressed,  or  for 
which  satisfaction  has  not  been  demanded,  I  have,  Sena 
tors,  in  this  solemn  hour  of  our  parting  to  offer  you  my 
apology  — " 

The  low  musical  voice  died  softly  away  in  the  silence 
of  tears. 

A  woman  sobbed  aloud. 

Socola  bent  toward  his  trembling  companion  and 
whispered : 

"Who  is  she?" 

Jennie  brushed  the  tears  from  her  brown  eyes  before 
replying : 

"  The  Senator's  wife.  She's  heartbroken  over  it  all 
8  97 


THE  VICTIM 


—  didn't  sleep  a  wink  all  night.  I've  been  looking  for 
her  to  faint  every  minute." 

The  leader  closed  his  portfolio.  His  hollow  cheeks, 
thin  lips  and  white  drawn  face  were  clothed  with  an 
expression  of  sorrow  beyond  words  as  he  slowly  turned 
and  left  the  scene  of  his  life's  triumphs. 

The  spell  of  his  eloquence  at  last  thrown  off  the 
crowd  once  more  dissolved  into  hostile  lowering- 
groups. 

Stern  old  Zack  Chandler  of  Michigan  collided  with 
Jennie's  father  in  the  cloak  room,  his  eyes  red  with 
wrath. 

"  Well,  Barton,"  he  growled,  "  after  the  damned  in 
solence  of  that  scene  if  the  North  don't  fight,  I'll  be 
much  mistaken  — " 

"  You  generally  are,  sir,"  Barton  retorted. 

"  If  they  don't  fight,  by  the  living  God,  I'll  leave  this 
country  and  join  another  nation  —  the  Comanche  In 
dians  preferred  to  this  Government." 

Barton  glanced  at  his  opponent  and  his  heavy  jaw 
closed  with  a  snap. 

"  I  trust,  Senator,"  he  said  with  deliberate  venom, 
"  you  will  not  carry  out  that  resolution  —  the  Co 
manche  Indians  have  already  suffered  too  much  from 
contact  with  the  whites !  " 

Dick  Welford  heard  the  shot  and  gripped  the  fierce 
old  Southerner's  hand  as  Chandler  turned  on  his  heel 
and  disappeared  with  an  oath. 

"  You  got  him  that  time,  Senator !  " 

Barton  laughed  with  boyish  glee. 

"I  did,  didn't  I?  Sometimes  we  can  only  think  of 
our  best  things  when  it's  too  late.  But  by  Gimminy  I 
got  the  old  rascal  this  time,  didn't  I  ?  " 

"  You  certainly  plugged  him  —  what  did  you  think 
of  the  speeches  ?  " 

"  Clay  said  something !  Davis  is  too  slow.  He's  got 

98 


THE  PARTING 


no  blood  in  his  veins.  I  don't  like  him.  He'll  pull  us 
back  into  the  Union  yet  if  we  don't  watch  him.  He's 
a  reconstructionist  at  heart.  The  State  of  Mississippi 
is  dragging  him  out  of  Washington  by  the  heels.  He 
makes  me  tired.  The  time  for  talk  has  passed.  To 
your  tents  now,  O  Israel ! " 

Dick  hurried  to  the  gallery  and  watched  Socola  talk 
ing  in  his  graceful  Italian  way  with  Jennie.  He  had 
hated  this  elegant  foreigner  the  moment  he  had  laid 
eyes  on  him.  He  made  up  his  mind  to  declare  himself 
before  another  sun  set. 

He  ignored  the  Italian's  existence. 

"  You  are  ready,  Miss  Jennie?  " 

She  took  Dick's  proffered  arm  in  silence  and  bowed 
to  Socola  who  watched  them  go  with  a  peculiar  smile 
playing  about  his  handsome  mouth. 

Jennie  insisted  on  stopping  at  Senator  Davis'  home 
to  tell  his  wife  of  the  wonderful  power  with  which  his 
speech  had  swept  the  galleries. 

The  house  was  still,  the  library  door  open.  The  girl 
paused  on  the  threshold  in  awe.  The  Senator's  tall 
figure  was  lying  prostrate  across  his  desk,  his  thin 
hands  clasped  in  prayer,  his  face  buried  in  his  arms. 
His  lips  were  murmuring  words  too  low  to  be  heard 
until  at  last  they  swelled  in  sorrowful  repetition: 

"  May  God  have  us  in  his  holy  keeping  and  grant 
that  before  it  is  too  late  peaceful  councils  may  pre 
vail!" 

The  girl  turned  softly  and  left  without  a  word. 


CHAPTER  III 
A  MIDNIGHT  SESSION 

The  Secretary  of  War  invited  Socola  to  join  him  at 
the  White  House  after  the  Cabinet  meeting  which  Pres 
ident  Buchanan  had  called  at  the  unusual  hour  of  ten 
at  night.  He  had  waited  for  more  than  two  hours  in 
the  anteroom  and  still  the  Cabinet  was  in  session. 
Without  show  of  impatience  he  smoked  cigar  after  cigar, 
flicked  their  ashes  into  the  fireplace  and  listened  with  an 
expression  of  quiet  amusement  to  the  storm  raging 
within  while  the  sleet  of  a  January  blizzard  rattled 
against  the  windows  with  increasing  fury. 

Once  more  the  question  of  the  little  fort  in  the  harbor 
of  Charleston  had  plunged  the  discordant  Cabinet  of 
the  dying  administration  into  the  convulsions  of  a  mini 
ature  war. 

The  feeble  old  President,  overwhelmed  by  the  gather 
ing  storm,  crouched  in  the  corner  by  the  fire.  His  ema 
ciated  figure  was  shrouded  in  a  ridiculous  old  dressing- 
gown.  Mentally  and  physically  prostrate  he  sat  shiv 
ering  while  his  ministers  wrangled. 

He  rose  at  last,  shambled  to  the  Cabinet  table,  and 
leaned  his  trembling  hands  on  it  for  support. 

"What  can  I  do,  gentlemen  —  what  can  I  do?  If 
Anderson  hadn't  gone  into  that  fort  at  night,  the  State 
of  South  Carolina  might  not  have  seceded  — " 

Stanton  shook  his  massive  head  with  an  expression 
of  uncontrollable  rage. 

"Great  God!" 

The  President  continued  in  feeble,  pleading  tones : 
100 


A  MIDNIGHT  SESSION 


"Now  they  tell  me  that  unless  Andprspi}  * withdraws 
his  troops  their  presence  will  provoke  b!6ddr£li&d  ^" 

"  Let  them  fire  on  him  if  they  dare !  "  shouted  Stan- 
ton. 

"  I  cannot  plunge  my  country  into  fratricidal  war. 
My  sands  are  nearly  run.  I  only  ask  of  God  that  my 
sun  may  not  set  in  a  sea  of  blood  — " 

He  paused  and  lifted  his  thin  hands,  trembling  like 
two  withered  leaves  of  aspen  in  the  winter's  blast. 

"What  can  I  do?" 

Stanton  suddenly  sprang  from  his  seat  and  con 
fronted  the  shivering  old  man. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  you  can  not  do !  " 

The  President  gasped  for  breath  and  listened  help 
lessly. 

"  You  can't  yield  that  fort  to  the  conspirators  who 
demand  it.  Dare  to  do  it,  and  I  tell  you,  as  the  Attor 
ney  General  of  the  United  States,  you  are  guilty  of 
high  treason  —  and  by  the  living  God  you  should  be 
hung!" 

The  venerable  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Isaac  Toucey, 
lifted  his  hand  in  protest.  Stanton  merely  threw  him  a 
look  of  scorn,  and  shouted  into  the  President's  face: 

"  Your  act  could  no  more  be  defended  than  Benedict 
Arnold's ! " 

"And  what  say  you,  Holt?"  the  President  asked, 
turning  to  his  heavy -jawed  Secretary  of  War. 

"  Send  a  ship  to  the  relief  of  Sumter  within  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  let  South  Carolina  take  the  conse 
quences  — " 

"  Good !  "  Stanton  cried. 

Holt's  crooked  mouth  was  drawn  in  grim  lines,  and 
the  left-hand  corner  was  twisted  into  a  still  lower  knot 
of  ugly  muscles.  His  furtive  eyes  beneath  their  shaggy 
brows  glanced  quickly  around  the  table  to  see  the  effect 
of  his  patriotic  stand. 

101 


THE  VICTIM 


The  President  Burned  to  the  white-haired  Secretary 
of  the  Ntivy : 

"  And  you,  General  Toucey  ?  " 

The  venerable  statesman  from  Connecticut  bowed 
gravely  to  his  Chief  and  spoke  with  quiet  dignity. 

"  I  would  order  Anderson  to  return  at  once  to  Fort 
Moultrie  — " 

Stanton  smashed  the  table  with  his  big  fist. 

"  And  you  know  that  the  State  of  South  Carolina  has 
dismantled  Fort  Moultrie?  " 

Toucey  answered  Stanton's  bluster  with  quiet  em 
phasis. 

"  I'm  aware  of  that  fact,  sir !  " 

"  And  it  makes  no  difference  ?  " 

"  None  whatever.  Anderson  left  Fort  Moultrie  and 
moved  into  Fort  Sumter  without  orders  — " 

A  faint  smile  flickered  about  the  drooping  corners  of 
Holt's  mouth  — 

The  speaker  turned  to  Holt : 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  moved  into  that  fort  against 
the  positive  orders  of  your  predecessor,  James  B.  Floyd, 
the  Secretary  of  War.  As  he  went  there  without  or 
ders,  and  against  orders,  he  should  be  ordered  back 
forthwith  — " 

With  the  look  of  a  maddened  tiger  Stanton  flew  at 
him. 

"  And  you  expect  to  go  back  to  Connecticut  after 
making  that  statement  ?  " 

"  I  do,  sir  — " 

"  I  couldn't  believe  it." 

"  And  why,  pray?  " 

"  I  asked  the  question  in  good  faith,  that  I  might 
know  the  character  of  the  people  of  Connecticut,  or 
your  estimate  of  them." 

The  old  man  drew  himself  up  with  cold  dignity. 

"  I  have  served  the  people  of  my  State  for  over  forty 
102 


A  MIDNIGHT  SESSION 


years  —  their  Congressman,  their  Attorney  General, 
their  Governor,  their  Senator.  I  consult  no  upstart  of 
your  feeble  record,  sir,  on  any  question  of  principle  or 
policy !  " 

Stanton  quailed  a  moment  beneath  the  cold  scorn  of 
his  antagonist,  surprised  that  another  man  should  dare 
to  use  his  methods  of  invective. 

He  lifted  his  hands  with  a  gesture  of  contempt. 

"  All  I  can  say  is,  that  if  I  should  dare  take  that  po 
sition  and  return  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  I  should 
expect  to  be  stoned  the  moment  I  set  foot  on  her  soil, 
stoned  through  the  State  and  flung  into  the  river  at 
Pittsburg  with  a  stone  around  my  neck  — " 

Toucey  stared  at  his  opponent. 

"  And  in  my  opinion  they  would  deserve  well  of  their 
country  for  the  performance !  " 

While  his  Cabinet  wrangled,  the  feeble,  old  man  in 
the  faded  wrapper  shambled  to  the  window  and  gazed 
with  watery  eyes  on  the  swaying  trees  of  the  White 
House  grounds.  The  sleet  had  frozen  in  shining  crys 
tals  and  every  limb  was  hung  in  diamonds.  The  wind 
had  risen  to  hurricane  force,  howling  and  shrieking 
its  requiem  through  the  chill  darkness.  A  huge  bough 
broke  and  fell  to  the  ground  with  a  crash  that  sent  a 
shiver  through  his  distracted  soul. 

He  turned  back  to  the  table  to  hear  their  decision. 
It  came  with  but  one  dissenting  voice,  Toucey,  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy. 

"  A  ship  be  sent  at  once  to  the  relief  of  Sum- 
ter." 

With  stubborn  terror  the  President  refused  to  sign 
the  order  for  an  armed  vessel.  At  one  o'clock  they 
compromised  on  the  little  steamer,  Star  of  tlw  West, 
and  Buchanan  agreed  that  she  should  attempt  to  land 
provisions  for  Anderson's  fifty-odd  men. 

Holt  hurried  from  the  council  chamber  at  one  o'clock 
103 


THE  VICTIM 


with  a  smile  of  triumph  playing  about  his  sinister 
mouth.  His  plan  had  succeeded.  He  had  worked 
Stanton  as  the  legal  adviser  of  the  President  ex 
actly  as  he  had  foreseen.  The  little  steamer  would 
test  the  mettle  of  the  men  of  South  Carolina  who  were 
training  their  batteries  on  Fort  Sumter.  If  they  dared 
to  fire  on  her  —  all  right  —  the  lines  of  battle  would 
be  drawn. 

He  seized  Socola's  arm. 

"  Come  with  me  to  the  War  Office." 

Inside,  he  closed  the  door,  inspected  the  room  in  every 
nook  and  corner  for  a  possible  eavesdropper,  seated 
himself  and  leaned  close  to  his  attentive  listener. 

"  I  have  established  your  character  now  through 
your  connection  with  the  Minister  from  Sardinia  be 
yond  the  possibility  of  any  doubt.  Your  position  will 
not  be  called  in  question.  You  will  appear  in  the  South 
as  the  representative,  unofficial  and  yet  duly  accred 
ited,  for  King  Victor  Emmanuel.  Your  purpose 
will  be,  of  course,  the  cultivation  of  friendly  relations 
with  the  officials  of  the  new  Government  looking 
to  the  day  of  its  coming  recognition  —  you  under 
stand?  " 

"  Perfectly  —» 

"  You  have  absolutely  consecrated  your  life,  and 
every  talent,  to  your  country?  " 

"  Body  and  soul  — " 

The  dark  eyes  flashed  with  the  light  of  a  religious 
fanatic. 

"  Good."  The  Secretary  pausefl  and  studied  his 
man  a  moment. 

"  I  introduced  you  to  the  girl  not  merely  to  obtain  an 
invaluable  witness  to  your  credentials  should  they  be 
questioned  —  but  for  a  double  purpose." 

Socola  nodded. 

"  I  guessed  as  much." 

104 


A  MIDNIGHT  SESSION 


"  She's  bright,  young,  pretty,  and  you  can  pass  the 
time  pleasantly  in  her  company.  The  association  will 
place  you  in  a  strong  position.  Her  father  is  a  fool  — 
the  storm  petrel  of  Secession.  He  has  the  biggest 
mouth  in  America,  barring  none.  His  mouth  is  so 
huge,  they'll  never  find  a  muzzle  big  enough  if  they 
could  get  men  enough  around  him  to  put  it  on.  He's 
bound  to  land  somewhere  high  in  the  councils  of  the 
coming  Confederacy  — " 

"There'll  be  one?" 

Holt  smiled. 

"You  doubt  it?" 

"  It  may  be  bluster  after  all." 

"  Men  of  the  Davis  type  don't  bluster,  my  boy. 
They  are  to  meet  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  on  Feb 
ruary  fourth.  They'll  organize  the  Cotton  States  into 
a  Southern  Confederacy.  If  they  can  win  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  Tennessee  and  Arkansas,  they  may 
gobble  Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri  —  all  Slave 
States.  If  they  get  them  all  —  they'll  win  without  a 
fight  and  reconstruct  the  Union  on  their  own  terms ;  if 
they  don't  —  well,  we'll  see  what  we'll  see  — " 

"And  you  wish?" 

"  That  you  get  for  me  —  and  get  quickly  —  inside 
information  of  what  is  done  and  what  is  proposed  to  be 
done  at  Montgomery.  I  want  the  names  of  every  man 
discussed  for  high  office  among  them,  his  chances  of 
appointment,  his  friends,  his  enemies  —  why  they  are 
his  friends,  why  they  are  his  enemies.  I  want  their 
plans,  their  prospects,  their  hopes,  their  fears,  and  I 
want  this  information  quickly.  You  will  be  supplied 
with  ample  funds,  and  your  report  must  be  made  to  me 
in  person.  My  tenure  of  this  office  will  be  but  a  few 
weeks  longer  —  but  you  are  my  personal  representative, 
you  understand?  " 

"  Quite." 

105 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Your  report  must  be  in  person  to  me,  and  to  me 
alone." 

"  I  understand,  sir." 

Socola  rose,  extended  his  hand,  drew  his  cloak  about 
his  slender  shoulders  and  passed  out  into  the  storm,  his 
dark  face  lighted  by  a  smile  as  he  recalled  the  winsome 
face  of  Jennie  Barton. 


CHAPTER  IV 
A  FRIENDLY  WARNING 

The  withdrawal  of  the  Southern  Senators  and  Repre 
sentatives  from  Congress  produced  in  Washington  the 
upheaval  of  a  social  earthquake. 

An  atmosphere  of  tears  and  ominous  foreboding  hung 
pall-like  over  the  city's  social  life.  Each  step  in  the 
departure  of  wives  and  daughters  was  a  pang. 

Carriages  drawn  by  sleek,  high-bred  horses  dashed 
through  the  broad  streets  with  excited  haste.  The 
black  coachman  On  the  box  held  his  reins  with  a  nerv 
ous  grip  that  communicated  itself  to  the  horses.  He 
had  caught  the  excitement  in  the  quivering  social  struc 
ture  of  which  he  was  part.  What  he  was  really  think 
ing  down  in  the  depths  of  his  African  soul  only  God 
could  see.  His  dark  face  merely  grinned  in  quick  obe 
dience  to  command. 

From  every  house  where  these  farewells  were  being 
said,  a  weeping  woman  emerged  and  waved  a  last  adieu 
to  the  tear-stained  faces  at  the  window. 

Wagons  and  carts  lumbered  through  the  streets  on 
their  way  to  the  wharf  or  station,  piled  high  with  bag 
gage. 

Hotel-keepers  stood  in  the  doorway  of  their  establish 
ments  with  darkened  brows.  The  glory  of  the  past 
was  departing.  The  future  was  a  blank. 

On  the  morning  after  his  farewell  address  to  the  Sen 
ate,  a  messenger,  who  refused  to  give  his  name,  was 
ushered  into  the  library  of  Senator  Davis. 

The  stately  black  butler  bowed  again  with  quiet  dig 
nity. 

107 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Yo'  name,  sah?     I  —  failed  to  catch  it?  " 

The  messenger  lifted  his  hand: 

"  No  name.  Please  say  to  the  Senator  that  I  came 
from  an  important  official  with  a  message  of  the  gravest 
importance  —  I  wish  to  see  him  alone  at  once  — " 

The  faithful  servant  eyed  his  visitor  with  an  ominous 
look.  There  was  no  question  of  his  loyalty  to  the  man 
he  served. 

"  It's  all  right,  Robert,  I'm  a  friend  of  Senator 
Davis." 

A  moment's  hesitation  and  the  black  man  bowed  with 
deference. 

"  Yassah  —  yassah  —  I  tell  him  right  away,  sah. 
You  sho'  knows  me  anyhow,  sah  — " 

The  Senator  was  in  bed  suffering  again  from 
facial  neuralgia.  He  rose  promptly,  dressed  hastily 
but  completely  and  carefully  and  extended  both  hands 
to  his  visitor. 

"  You  have  come  to  see  me  at  an  unusual  hour,  sir. 
It  must  be  important  — " 

"  Of  the  utmost  importance,  Senator.  A  high  official 
in  the  confidence  of  the  President  sent  me  to  inform 
you  that  Stanton,  the  Attorney  General,  is  planning 
to  issue  a  warrant  for  your  arrest  for  high  treason." 

"Indeed?" 

"  You  are  advised  to  leave  Washington  on  the  first 
train." 

A  dry  smile  flickered  about  the  corners  of  the  Sena 
tor's  strong  mouth. 

"  Thank  you.  Please  say  to  my  friend  that  I  appre 
ciate  the  spirit  that  prompted  his  message.  Ask  him 
to  say  to  Mr.  Stanton  that  I  have  decided  to  remain 
in  Washington  a  week.  Nothing  would  please  me  bet 
ter  than  to  submit  this  issue  to  the  courts  for  adjust 
ment.  He  will  find  me  at  home  every  day  and  at  all 
hours." 


CHAPTER  V 

BOY  AND  GIRL 

From  the  moment  Dick  Welford  had  seen  Socola  bow 
ing  and  smiling  before  Jennie  Barton  he  had  hated 
the  man.  He  hated  foreigners  on  general  principles, 
anyhow.  This  kind  of  foreigner  he  particularly 
loathed  —  the  slender,  nervous  type  which  suggested 
over-refinement  to  the  point  of  effeminacy.  He  had 
always  hated  slender,  effeminate-looking  men  of  the  na 
tive  breed.  This  one  was  doubly  offensive  because  he 
was  an  Italian.  How  any  woman  with  true  womanly 
instincts  could  tolerate  such  a  spider  was  more  than  he 
could  understand. 

Jennie  Barton  had  always  frankly  said  that  she  ad 
mired  men  of  his  own  type.  He  was  six  feet  one,  fair- 
haired,  blue-eyed,  and  weighed  a  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  pounds  at  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  had  always 
felt  instinctively  that  he  was  exactly  the  man  for  Jen 
nie's  mate.  She  was  nineteen,  dark  and  slender,  a  bun 
dle  of  quick,  sensitive,  nervous  intelligence.  Her  brown 
eyes  were  almost  black  and  her  luxuriant  hair  seemed 
raven-hued  beside  his.  He  had  always  imagined  it 
nestling  beside  his  big  blond  head  in  perfect  content 
ment  since  the  first  summer  he  had  spent  with  Tom  Bar 
ton  at  their  cottage  at  the  White  Sulphur  Springs. 

He  had  taken  it  for  granted  that  she  would  say  yes 
when  he  could  screw  up  his  courage  to  speak.  She  had 
treated  him  as  if  he  were  already  in  the  family. 

"  Confound  it,"  he  muttered,  clenching  his  big  fist, 
"that's  what  worries  me!  Maybe  she  just  thinks  of 
me  as  one  of  her  brothers !  " 

109 


THE  VICTIM 


It  hadn't  occurred  to  him  until  he  saw  the  light  kin 
dle  in  her  eyes  at  the  sight  of  that  smooth-tongued  rep 
tilian  foreigner.  He  was  on  his  way  now  to  her  house, 
to  put  the  thing  to  the  test  before  she  could  leave 
Washington.  Thank  God,  the  spider  was  tied  down 
here  at  the  Sardinian  Ministry.  He  hoped  Victor  Em 
manuel  would  send  him  as  Consul  to  Shanghai. 

Mrs.  Barton  met  him  at  the  door  with  a  motherly 
smile. 

"  Walk  right  in  the  parlor,  Dick.  It's  sweet  of  you 
to  come  so  early  to-day.  We're  all  in  tears,  packing 
to  go.  Jennie'll  be  delighted  to  see  you.  Poor  child 
—  she's  sick  over  it  all." 

Mrs.  Barton  pressed  Dick's  hand  with  the  softest 
touch  that  reassured  his  fears.  The  only  trouble 
about  Mrs.  Barton  was  she  was  gentle  and  friendly  to 
everybody,  black  and  white,  old  and  young,  Yankee 
or  Southerner.  She  was  even  sorry  for  old  John 
Brown  when  they  hung  him. 

"  Poor  thing,  he  was  crazy,"  she  said  tenderly. 
"  They  ought  to  have  sent  him  to  the  asylum." 

Try  as  he  might,  he  couldn't  fling  off  the  impression 
of  tragedy  the  meeting  of  Socola  with  Jennie  had  pro 
duced.  He  was  in  a  nervous  fit  to  see  and  tell  her  of 
his  love.  Why  the  devil  hadn't  he  done  so  before  any 
how?  They  might  have  been  engaged  and  ready  to  be 
married  by  this  time.  They  had  met  when  she  was  six 
teen. 

Why  on  earth  couldn't  he  throw  off  the  fool  idea 
that  he  was  going  to  lose  her?  His  big  fist  suddenly 
closed  with  resolution. 

"  I'll  not  lose  her !  I'll  wring  that  viper's  neck  — 
I'll  wade  through  blood  and  death  and  the  fires  of  h — " 

Just  as  he  was  plunging  waist  deep  through  the 
flames  of  the  Pit,  she  appeared  in  the  door,  the  picture 
of  wistful,  tender  beauty. 

110 


BOY  AND  GIRL 


He  rose  awkwardly  and  extended  his  hand. 

"  Good  morning,  Dick !  " 

"  Good  morning,  Jennie  — " 

Her  hand  was  hot,  her  eyes  heavy  with  tears. 

"  What's  the  matter?  "  he  asked. 

"  As  if  you  didn't  know  —  I've  been  saying  good-by 
to  some  of  the  dearest  friends  I've  ever  known.  It's 
terrible.  I  just  feel  it's  the  end  of  the  world  — " 

He  started  to  say :  "  Don't  worry,  Jennie  darling, 
you  have  me.  I  love  you !  "  The  thought  of  it  made 
the  cold  beads  of  perspiration  suddenly  stand  out  on  his 
forehead.  It  was  one  thing  to  think  such  things  —  an 
other  to  say  it  aloud  to  a  girl  with  Jennie's  serious 
brown  eyes. 

She  seemed  terribly  serious  this  morning  and  far 
away  somehow.  Never  had  he  seen  her  so  utterly 
lovely.  The  mood  of  tender  seriousness  made  her  more 
beautiful  than  ever.  If  he  only  dared  to  crush  her  in 
his  arms  and  laugh  the  smiles  back  into  her  eyes. 

When  he  spoke  it  was  only  a  commonplace  he  man 
aged  to  blurt  out : 

"  So  you're  really  going  to-morrow?  " 

"  Yes  —  we've  telegraphed  the  boys  to  come  home 
from  school  at  once  and  join  us  in  Montgomery." 

He  tried  to  say  it  again,  but  the  speech  turned  out 
to  be  political,  not  personal. 

"  Of  course  Virginia'll  stand  by  her  Southern  sisters, 
Jennie  — " 

«  Yes  — " 

"  It's  just  a  few  old  moss-backs  holding  her.  No 
army  will  ever  march  across  her  soil  to  fight  a  South 
ern  State — " 

"  I  hope  not." 

"  Of  course  not.  I'll  meet  them  on  the  border  with 
one  musket  anyhow — " 

The  girl  was  looking  out  the  window  at  the  slowly 
111 


THE  VICTIM 


drizzling  rain  and  made  no  answer.  He  flushed  at  her 
Apparent  indifference  to  his  heroic  stand. 

"  Don't  you  believe  I  would  ?  " 

"  Would  what,  Dick?  "  she  smiled,  recovering  herself 
from  her  reverie. 

It  was  no  use  beating  about  the  bush,  trying  to  talk 
politics.  He  had  to  make  the  plunge. 

He  suddenly  took  her  hand  in  his. 

She  threw  him  a  startled  look,  sat  bolt  upright,  made 
the  faintest  effort  to  draw  her  hand  away,  and  blushed 
furiously. 

He  was  in  for  it  now.  There  was  no  retreat.  He 
gripped  with  desperate  earnestness,  tried  to  speak,  and 
choked. 

He  drew  a  deep  breath,  tried  again  and  only  squeezed 
her  hand  harder. 

The  girl  began  to  smile  in  a  sweet,  triumphant  way. 
It  was  nice,  this  conscious  power  over  a  big,  stun 
ning  six-footer  who  grasped  her  hand  as  a  drowning 
man  a  straw.  The  sense  of  her  strength  was  thrill 
ing. 

She  looked  at  him  with  demure  reproach. 

"Dick!" 

He  grinned  sheepishly  and  clung  to  her  hand. 

"  Yes  —  Jennie  — " 

"  Do  you  know  what  you  are  doing?  " 

"  No  —  but  —  I  know  —  what  —  I'm  —  trying 

—  to  —  do  —  and  —  I'm  —  going  —  to  —  do 

—  it  — " 

Again  his  big  hand  crushed  hers. 

"  You're  trying  to  break  every  bone  in  my  hand  as 
near  as  I  can  make  out  —  I'd  like  it  back  when  you're 
through  with  it  — " 

He  found  his  tongue  at  last : 

"I  —  I  —  can't  let  you  have  it  back,  Jennie,  I'm 
going  to  keep  it  forever  — " 

112 


BOY  AND  GIRL 


"Really?" 

"  Yes  —  I  am.  I  —  I  love  you  —  Jennie  —  don't 
you  love  me  —  just  —  a  —  little  bit?  " 

The  girl  laughed. 

"  No !  " 

"  Not  the  least  —  little  —  tiny  —  bit?  " 

"  I  don't  think  so  — " 

The  hand  slipped  through  his  limp  fingers  and  he 
stared  at  her  in  a  hopeless,  pitiful  way. 

Her  heart  went  out  in  a  wave  of  tender  sympathy. 
She  put  her  hand  back  in  his  in  a  wistful  touch. 

"  I'm  sorry,  Dick  dear,  I  didn't  think  you  loved  me 
in  that  way  — " 

"  What  did  you  think  I  was  hanging  round  you  so 
much  for  ?  " 

"  I  knew  you  liked  me,  of  course.  And  I  like  you  — 
but  I've  never  thought  seriously  about  love." 

"  There's  no  other  fellow?  " 

"  Of  course,  not  — " 

"  You  liked  that  Socola,  didn't  you?  " 

"I  liked  him  —  yes— " 

"  I  thought  so." 

"  He's  cultured,  handsome,  interesting  — " 

"  He's  a  sissy !" 

"Dick!" 

"  A  little  wizened-faced  rat  —  the  spider-snake !  I 
could  break  his  long  neck.  Yes  —  you  do  like  him  !  I 
saw  it  when  you  met  him.  You're  throwing  me  down 
because  you  met  him !  " 

"  Dick ! " 

"  But  he  shan't  have  you,  I  tell  you  —  I'll  show  him 
I  could  lick  a  thousand  such  sissies  with  one  hand  tied 
behind  me." 

The  girl  rose  with  dignity. 

"  Don't  you  dare  to  speak  to  me  like  that,  sir  — " 

"  You're  going  to  see  that  fellow  again  —  I'll  bet 
9  113 


THE  VICTIM 


you've  got  an  engagement  with  him  now  —  to-night  — 
to-day!" 

The  slender  figure  rose. 

"  I'll  see  him  if  I  please  —  when  I  please  and  where 
I  please  and  I'll  not  consult  you  about  it,  Dick  Wei- 
ford  —  Good  day !  " 

Trembling  with  anger  the  big,  awkward  boy  turned 
and  stumbled  out  of  the  house. 


CHAPTER     VI 

GOD'S  WILI, 

Dick  Welford  had  played  directly  into  the  hands  of 
his  enemy.  When  Socola  called  at  the  Barton  home  to 
pay  his  respects  to  Miss  Jennie  and  wish  them  health 
and  happiness  and  success  in  their  new  and  dangerous 
enterprise,  he  found  the  girl  in  a  receptive  mood.  The 
accusation  of  interest  had  stimulated  her  to  her  first 
effort  to  entertain  the  self-poised  and  gentlemanly  for 
eigner. 

He  turned  to  Jennie  with  a  winning  appeal  in  his 
modulated  voice: 

"  Will  you  do  me  a  very  great  favor,  Miss  Barton?  " 

"  If  I  can  —  certainly,"  was  the  quick  answer. 

"  I  wish  to  meet  your  distinguished  father.  He  is  a 
great  Southern  leader.  I  have  been  commissioned  by 
the  Sardinian  Ministry  to  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of 
the  leaders  of  the  Confederacy.  I  am  to  make  a  report 
direct  to  the  Court  of  King  Emmanuel  on  the  prospects 
of  the  South." 

Jennie  rose  with  a  smile. 

"  With  pleasure.     I'll  call  father  at  once." 

Barton  was  delighted  at  the  announcement. 

"  Invite  him  to  spend  a  week  with  us  at  Fairview," 
Jennie  suggested. 

"  Good  idea  —  we'll  show  him  what  Southern  hospi 
tality  means ! " 

Barton  grasped  Socola's  outstretched  hand  with  en 
thusiasm. 

"  Permit  me,"  he  began  in  his  grand  way,  "  to  ex- 
115 


THE  VICTIM 


tend  you  a  welcome  to  the  South.  Your  King  is  inter 
ested  in  our  movement.  It's  natural.  Europe  must 
reckon  with  us  from  the  first.  Cotton  is  the  real  King. 
We  are  going  to  build  on  this  staple  an  industrial 
empire  whose  influence  will  dominate  the  world.  The 
sooner  the  political  rulers  realize  this  the  better." 

Socola  bowed. 

"  I  quite  agree  with  you,  Senator  Barton.  His  Maj 
esty  King  Victor  Emmanuel  has  great  plans  for  the  fu 
ture.  He  is  profoundly  interested  in  your  movement. 
He  does  not  believe  that  the  map  of  Italy  has  yet  been 
fixed.  It  will  be  quite  easy  to  convince  his  brilliant, 
open  mind  that  the  boundaries  of  this  country  may  be 
readjusted — •" 

"  I  shall  be  delighted  to  show  you  every  courtesy 
within  my  power,  sir,"  Barton  responded.  "  You  must 
go  South  with  us  to-morrow  and  spend  a  week  at  Fair- 
view,  our  country  estate.  You  must  meet  my  grand  old 
father  and  my  mother  and  see  the  curse  of  slavery  at  its 
worst !  " 

Barton  laughed  heartily  and  slipped  his  arm  per 
suasively  about  the  graceful  shoulders  of  his  guest. 

"  I  hadn't  thought  of  being  so  honored,  I  assure 
you  — " 

He  paused  and  looked  at  Jennie  with  a  timid  sort  of 
appeal. 

"  Come  with  us  —  we'll  be  delighted  to  have  you  — " 

"  I'll  enjoy  it,  I'm  sure,"  he  said  hesitatingly.  "  We 
will  reach  Montgomery  in  time  for  the  meeting  of  the 
Convention  of  Seceding  States?  " 

"  Certainly,"  Barton  replied.  "  I'm  already  elected 
a  delegate  from  my  State.  Her  secession  is  but  a  ques 
tion  of  days." 

Socola's  white,  even  teeth  gleamed  in  a  happy  smile. 

"  I'll  go  with  pleasure,  Senator.  You  leave  to 
morrow  ?  " 

116 


GOD'S  WILL 


"  The  ten-twenty  train  for  the  South.  You'll  join 
our  party,  of  course?  " 

"  Of  course." 

With  a  graceful  bow  he  hurried  home  to  complete  the 
final  preparations  for  his  departure.  He  walked  with 
quick,  strong  step.  And  yet  as  he  approached  the 
door  of  the  little  house  in  the  humbler  quarter  of  the 
city  his  gait  unconsciously  slowed  down. 

He  dreaded  this  last  struggle  with  his  mother.  But 
it  must  come.  He  entered  the  modestly  furnished 
sitting  room  and  looked  at  her  calm,  sweet  face 
with  a  sudden  sinking.  She  would  be  absolutely 
alone  in  the  world.  And  yet  no  harm  could  befall 
her.  She  was  the  friend  of  every  human  being  who 
knew  her.  It  was  the  agony  of  this  parting  he  dreaded 
and  the  loneliness  that  would  torture  her  in  his  ab 
sence. 

He  spoke  with  forced  cheerfulness. 

"  Well,  mater,  it's  all  settled.  I  leave  at  ten-twenty 
to-morrow  morning." 

She  rose  and  placed  her  hands  on  his  shoulders.  The 
tears  blinded  her. 

"  How  little  I  thought  when  I  taught  your  boyish  lips 
to  speak  the  musical  tongue  of  Italy  I  was  preparing 
this  bitter  hour  for  my  soul!  I  begged  your  father  to 
resign  his  consulship  at  Genoa  and  brought  you  home 
to  teach  you  the  great  lesson  —  to  love  your  country 
and  reverence  your  country's  God.  And  since  your  fa 
ther's  death  the  dream  of  my  heart  has  been  to  see  you 
a  minister,  teaching  and  uplifting  the  people  into  a 
higher  and  nobler  life  — " 

"  That  is  my  aim,  mater  dear.  I  am  consecrating 
body,  mind  and  soul  to  the  task  now  of  saving  the 
Union,  an  inheritance  priceless  and  glorious  to  millions 
yet  unborn.  I'm  going  to  break  the  chains  that  bind 
slaves.  I'm  going  to  break  the  brutal  and  cruel  power 

117 


THE  VICTIM 


of  the  Southern  Tyranny  that  has  been  strangling  the 
nation  for  forty  years  !  " 

His  eyes  flashed  with  the  fire  of  fanatical  enthusi 
asm. 

He  slipped  his  arm  about  his  mother's  slender  waist, 
drew  her  to  the  window  and  pointed  to  the  unfinished 
dome  of  the  white,  majestic  capitol. 

"  See,  mater  dear,  the  sun  is  bursting  through  the 
clouds  now  and  lighting  with  splendor  the  marble  col 
umns.  Last  night  when  the  speeches  were  done  and  the 
crowds  gone  I  stood  an  hour  and  studied  the  flawless 
symmetry  of  those  magnificent  wings  and  over  it  all 
the  great  solemn  dome  with  its  myriad  gleaming  eyes 
far  up  in  the  sky  —  and  I  wondered  if  God  meant  noth 
ing  big  or  significant  to  humanity  when  he  breathed  the 
dream  of  that  poem  in  marble  into  the  souls  of  our  peo 
ple  !  I  can't  believe  it,  dear.  I  stood  and  pra}7ed 
while  I  dreamed.  I  saw  in  the  ragged  scaffolding  and 
the  big  ugly  crane  swinging  from  its  place  in  the  sky  the 
symbol  of  our  crude  beginnings  —  our  ragged  past. 
And  then  the  snow-white  vision  of  the  finished  build 
ing,  the  most  majestic  monument  ever  reared  on 
earth  to  Freedom  and  her  cause  —  and  I  saw  the  glory 
of  a  new  Democracy  rising  from  the  blood  and  agony 
of  the  past  to  be  the  hope  and  inspiration  of  the 
world ! 

"  You  hate  this  masquerade  —  this  battle  name  I've 
chosen.  Forget  this,  dear,  and  see  the  vision  your  God 
has  given  to  me.  You've  prayed  that  I  might  be  His 
minister.  And  so  I  am  —  and  so  I  shall  be  when  dan 
ger  calls ;  you  dislike  this  repulsive  mission  on  which 
I'm  entering.  Just  now  it's  the  one  and  only  thing  a 
brave  man  can  do  for  his  country.  Forget  that  I'm  a 
spy  and  remember  that  I'm  fitted  for  a  divine  service. 
I  speak  two  languages  beside  my  own.  Our  people 
don't  study  languages.  Few  men  of  my  culture  and 

118 


GOD'S  WILL 


endowment  will  do  this  dangerous  and  disagreeable 
work.  I  rise  on  wings  at  the  thought  of  it !  " 

The  mother's  spirit  caught  at  last  the  divine  spark 
from  the  soul  of  the  young  enthusiast.  Her  eyes  were 
wide  and  shining  without  tears  when  she  slipped  both 
arms  about  his  neck  and  spoke  with  deep  tenderness. 

"  You  have  fully  counted  the  cost,  my  son?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  The  lying,  the  cheating,  the  false  pretenses,  the  as 
sumed  name,  the  trusting  hearts  you  must  betray,  the 
men  you  must  kill  alone,  sometimes  to  save  your  own  life 
and  serve  your  country's  ?  " 

"  It's  war,  mater  dear.  I  hate  its  cruelty  and  its 
wrongs.  I'll  do  my  best  in  these  early  days  to  make  it 
impossible.  But  if  it  comes,  I'll  play  the  game  with 
my  life  in  my  hands,  and  if  I  had  a  hundred  lives  I'd 
give  them  all  to  my  country  —  my  only  regret  is  that  I 
have  but  one  — " 

"  How  strange  the  ways  of  God ! "  the  mother  broke 
in.  "  He  planted  this  love  in  your  soul.  He  taught 
it  to  me  and  I  to  you  and  now  it  ends  in'  darkness  and 
blood  and  death  — " 

"  But  out  of  it,  dear,  must  come  the  greater  plan. 
You  believe  in  God  —  you  must  believe  this,  or  else  the 
Devil  rules  the  universe,  and  there  is  no  God." 

The  mother  drew  the  young  lips  down  and  kissed  them 
tenderly. 

"  God's  will  be  done,  my  Boy  —  it's  the  bitterness  of 
death  to  me  —  but  I  say  it !  " 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  BEST  MAN  WINS 

Before  Socola  could  purchase  his  ticket  for  the  South, 
Senator  Barton  laid  his  heavy  hand  on  his  shoulder. 

"  I  just  ran  down,  sir,  to  ask  you  to  wait  and  go  in 
Senator  Davis'  party.  He  has  been  threatened  with 
arrest  by  the  cowards  who  are  at  the  present  moment  in 
charge  of  the  Government.  He  can't  afford  to  leave 
town  while  there's  a  chance  that  so  fortunate  an  event 
may  be  pulled  off.  I  have  decided  to  stay  until  Lin 
coln's  inauguration.  My  wife  and  daughter  will  make 
you  welcome  at  Fairview.  And  you'll  meet  my  three 
boys.  I'm  sorry  I  can't  be  with  you." 

Socola's  masked  face  showed  no  trace  of  disappoint 
ment.  He  merely  asked  politely: 

"  And  the  party  of  Senator  Davis  will  start?  " 

"  A  week  from  to-day,  sir  —  and  my  wife  and  daugh 
ter  will  accompany  them  —  unless  —  of  course  — " 

He  laughed  heartily. 

"  Unless  the  great  Attorney  General,  Edwin  M.  Stan- 
ton,  decides  to  arrest  him  —  if  he'll  only  do  it !  " 

Socola  nodded  carelessly. 

"  I  understand,  Senator.  A  week  from  to-day.  The 
same  hour  —  the  same  train." 

In  a  moment  he  had  disappeared  in  the  crowd  and 
hurried  to  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

Holt  received  his  announcement  with  a  smile  about 
the  corners  of  his  strong,  crooked  mouth. 

"  That's  lucky.  I'd  rather  you  were  with  Davis  ten 
to  one.  Amuse  yourself  for  the  week  by  getting  all  the 
information  possible  of  their  junta  here  — " 

120 


THE  BEST  MAN  WINS 


"  Barton  will  stay  until  the  inauguration  — " 

"  Of  course  —  a  spy  in  the  camp  of  the  enemy.  He 
could  be  arrested,  but  it's  not  wise  under  the  circum 
stances  — " 

"  You  will  not  arrest  Senator  Davis  ?  " 

"  Nonsense.  Stanton's  a  fool.  Nothing  would 
please  them  better.  I've  convinced  him  of  that.  A 
wrangle  in  the  courts  now  over  such  an  issue  would  post 
pone  its  settlement  indefinitely.  The  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  has  sustained  the  South  on  every 
issue  that  has  been  raised.  The  North  is  leading  a  rev 
olution.  The  South  is  entrenched  behind  the  law. 
They  can't  be  ousted  by  law.  It  can  only  be  done  by 
the  bayonet  — " 

Holt  paused  and  looked  thoughtfully  across  the  Po 
tomac. 

"  Report  to  me  daily  — " 

Socola  silently  saluted  and  left  the  office  with  his  first 
feeling  of  suspicion  and  repulsion  for  his  Chief.  He 
didn't  like  the  blunt,  brutal  way  this  Southern  Demo 
crat  talked.  He  couldn't  believe  in  his  honesty.  Be 
neath  those  bushy  eyebrows  burned  a  wolf's  hunger  for 
office  and  power.  On  the  surface  he  was  loyal  to  the 
Union.  He  wondered  if  he  were  not  in  reality  playing 
a  desperate  waiting  game,  ready  at  the  moment  of  the 
crisis  to  throw  his  information  to  either  side?  The 
air  of  Washington  reeked  with  suspicion  and  double 
dealing. 

"  Oh,  my  Country,"  he  murmured  bitterly,  "  if  ever 
true  men  were  needed !  " 

He  strolled  through  the  street  on  which  Senator  Davis 
and  Barton  lived  directly  opposite  each  other.  He 
would  call  on  Jennie  and  express  his  regret  that  their 
party  had  been  postponed.  At  the  door  he  changed 
his  mind.  Too  much  attention  at  this  stage  of  the 
game  would  not  be  wise.  He  passed  on,  glancing  at  the 

121 


THE  VICTIM 


distinguished-looking  group  of  men  who  were  emerging 
from  the  Davis  door. 

He  wondered  what  was  going  on  in  that  home?  It 
seemed  impossible  that  Davis  should  be  the  leader  of  a 
Southern  rebellion.  Clay  or  Toombs,  yes  —  but  this 
man  with  his  blood-marked  history  of  devotion  to  the 
Union  —  this  man  with  his  proud  record  of  construct 
ive  statesmanship  as  Senator  and  Secretary  of  War  — 
it  seemed  preposterous ! 

Could  he  have  heard  the  counsel  Davis  was  giving  at 
that  moment  to  the  excited  men  who  made  his  un 
pretentious  house  their  Mecca,  he  would  have  been  still 
more  astonished.  For  six  days  and  nights  with  but  a 
few  hours  snatched  for  sleep,  he  implored  the  excited 
leaders  of  Southern  opinion  to  avoid  violence,  and  be 
patient.  The  one  note  of  hopefulness  in  his  voice  came 
with  the  mention  of  the  new  President-elect,  Abraham 
Lincoln. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  is  a  man  of  friendly,  moderate  opin 
ions  personally,"  he  persistently  advised.  "  He  may 
be  able  to  surround  himself  with  a  council  of  conserva 
tive  men  who  will  use  their  power  to  hold  the  radical 
wing  of  his  party  in  check  until  by  delay  we  can  call  a 
convention  of  all  the  States  and  in  this  national  assem 
bly  find  a  solution  short  of  bloodshed.  We  must  try. 
We  must  exhaust  every  resource  before  we  dream  of 
war.  We  must  accept  war  only  when  it  is  forced  upon 
us  by  our  enemies." 

By  telegrams  and  letters  to  every  Southern  leader  he 
knew  he  urged  delay,  moderation,  postponement  of  all 
action. 

The  week  passed  and  the  Cabinet  of  Buchanan  had 
not  dared  accept  the  Southern  leader's  challenge  to  ar 
rest  and  trial. 

The  Davis  party  had  found  their  seats  in  the  train 
for  the  South.  Socola  strolled  the  platform  alone, 

122 


THE  BEST  MAN  WINS 


waiting  without  sign  of  interest  for  the  hour  of  de 
parture. 

Dick  Welford  arrived  five  minutes  before  the  train 
left  and  extended  his  hand  to  Jennie. 

"  Forgive  me,  Jennie !  " 

With  a  bright  smile  she  clasped  his  hand. 

"  Of  course,  Dick  —  I  took  your  silly  ravings  too 
seriously." 

"  No  —  I  was  a  fool.  I'll  make  up  for  it.  I'll  go 
over  now  and  shake  hands  with  the  reptile  if  you  say 
so  — " 

"  Nonsense  —  you'll  not  do  anything  of  the  sort. 
He's  nothing  to  me.  He's  the  guest  of  the  South  — 
that's  all." 

"  Honest  now,  Jennie  —  you  don't  care  for  any  other 
fellow?" 

"  Nor  for  you,  either !  "  she  laughed. 

"  Of  course,  I  know  that  —  but  I  can  keep  on  try 
ing,  can't  I?" 

"  I  don't  see  how  I  can  prevent  it ! " 

Dick  grinned  good-naturedly  and  Jennie  laughed 
again. 

"  You're  in  for  a  siege  with  me,  I'll  tell  you  right 
now." 

"  It's  a  free  fight,  Dick.  I'm  indifferent  to  the  re 
sults." 

"  Then  you  don't  mind  if  I  win?  " 

"  Not  in  the  least.  At  the  present  moment  I'm  a 
curious  spectator  —  that's  all." 

"  Lord,  I  wish  I  were  going  with  you  — •" 

"  I  wish  so,  too  — " 

"Honest,  Jennie?" 

"  Cross  my  heart  — " 

Dick  laughed  aloud. 

"  Say  —  I  tell  you  what  I'm  going  to  do !  " 

"Yes?" 

123 


THE  VICTIM 


"  If  Virginia  don't  secede  in  ten  days  —  I  will.  I'll 
resign  my  job  here  with  old  Hunter  and  join  the  Con 
federacy.  I  don't  like  this  new  clerkship  business  any 
how  —  expect  me  in  ten  days  — " 

Before  Jennie  could  answer  he  turned  suddenly  and 
left  the  car. 

At  the  end  of  the  platform  he  ran  squarely  into  So- 
cola.  He  was  about  to  pass  without  recognition, 
stopped  on  an  impulse,  and  extended  his  hand : 

"  Fine  day,  Signer !  " 

"  Beautiful,  M'sieur,"  was  the  smooth  answer. 

Dick  hesitated. 

"  I'm  afraid  I  was  a  little  rude  the  other  day  ?  " 

"  No  offense,  I'm  sure,  Mr.  Welford  — " 

"  Of  course,  you  can  guess  I'm  in  love  with  Miss 
Barton  — " 

"  I  hadn't  speculated  on  that  point !  "  Socola  laughed. 

"  Well,  I've  been  speculating  about  you  — " 

"Indeed?" 

"  Yes  —  and  I'm  going  to  be  honest  with  you  —  I 
don't  like  you  —  we're  enemies  from  to-day.  But  I'll 
play  the  game  fair  and  the  best  man  wins  — " 

The  two  held  each  other's  eye  steadily  for  a  moment 
and  Socola's  white  teeth  flashed. 

"  The  best  man  wins,  M'sieur !  " 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  STORM  CENTER 

Socola  hastened,  through  Jennie,  to  cultivate  the  ac 
quaintance  of  Senator  Davis. 

"  You'll  be  delighted  with  Mrs.  Davis,  too,"  the  girl 
informed  him  with  enthusiasm.  "  His  second  love  af 
fair  you  know  —  this  time,  late  in  life,  he  married  the 
young  accomplished  granddaughter  of  Governor  Howeli 
of  New  Jersey.  Their  devotion  is  beautiful  — " 

The  train  had  barely  pulled  out  of  the  station  before 
Socola  found  himself  in  a  delightful  conversation  with 
the  Senator.  To  his  amazement  he  discovered  that  the 
Southerner  was  a  close  student  of  European  statesman 
ship  and  well  informed  on  the  conditions  of  modern 
Italy. 

"  I  am  delighted  beyond  measure,  Signor,"  he  said 
earnestly,  "  to  learn  of  the  interest  of  your  King  in  the 
South.  I  have  long  felt  that  Cavour  was  one  of  the 
greatest  statesmen  and  diplomats  of  the  world.  His 
achievement  in  establishing  the  Kingdom  of  Sardinia  in 
the  face  of  the  bitter  rivalries  and  ambitions  of  Eu 
rope,  to  say  nothing  of  the  power  of  Rome,  was  in  it 
self  enough  to  mark  him  as  the  foremost  man  of  his 
age." 

"  The  King  has  great  ambitions,  Senator.  Very 
shortly  his  title  will  be  King  of  Italy.  He  dreams  of 
uniting  all  Italians." 

"  And  if  it  is  possible,  the  Piedmontese  are  the  people 
ordained  for  leadership  in  that  sublime  work  — " 

He  looked  thoughtfully  out  of  the  window  at  the 
125 


THE  VICTIM 


Virginia  hills  and  Socola  determined  to  change  the  con 
versation.  He  was  fairly  well  informed  of  the  affairs 
in  the  little  Kingdom  on  whose  throne  young  Victor 
Emmanuel  sat,  but  this  man  evidently  knew  the  philoso 
phy  of  its  history  as  well  as  the  facts.  A  question  or 
two  with  his  keen  eye  boring  through  him  might  lead 
to  an  unpleasant  situation. 

"  Your  family  are  all  with  you,  Senator?  "  he  asked 
pleasantly. 

Instantly  the  clouds  lifted  from  the  pale,  thoughtful 
face. 

"  Yes  —  I've  three  darling  babies.  I  wish  you  to 
meet  Mrs.  Davis  —  come,  they  are  in  the  next  car." 

In  a  moment  the  statesman  had  forgotten  the  storm 
of  revolution.  He  was  laughing  and  playing  with  his 
children.  However  stern  and  high  his  uncompromising 
opinions  might  be  on  public  questions,  he  was  wax  in 
the  hands  of  the  two  lovely  boys  who  climbed  over  him 
and  the  vivacious  little  girl  who  slipped  her  arms  about 
his  neck.  His  respite  from  care  was  brief.  At  the 
first  important  stop  in  Virginia  a  dense  crowd  had 
packed  the  platforms.  Their  cries  throbbed  with  any 
thing  but  the  spirit  of  delay  and  compromise. 

"Davis!" 

"  Hurrah  for  Jefferson  Davis  !  " 

"  Speech  —  speech  !  " 

"  Davis !  " 

"Speech!" 

There  was  something  tense  and  compelling  in  the 
tones  of  these  cries.  They  rang  as  bugle  calls  to  battle. 
In  their  hum  and  murmur  there  was  more  than  curios 
ity  —  more  than  the  tribute  of  a  people  to  their  leader. 
There  was  in  the  very  sound  the  electric  rush  of  the  first 
crash  of  the  approaching  storm.  The  man  inside  who 
had  led  soldiers  to  death  on  battle  fields  felt  it  instantly 
and  the  smile  died  on  his  thin  lips.  The  roar  outside 

126 


THE  STORM  CENTER 


his  car  window  was  not  the  cry  of  a  mob  echoing  the 
sentiments  of  a  leader.  It  was  the  shrill  imperial  cry 
of  a  rising  people  creating  their  leaders. 

From  the  moment  he  bowed  his  head  and  lifted  his 
hand  over  the  crowd  that  greeted  him,  hopeless  sorrow 
filled  his  soul. 

War  was  inevitable. 

These  people  did  not  realize  it.  But  he  saw  it  now 
in  all  its  tragic  import.  He  had  intended  to  counsel 
patience,  moderation  and  delay.  Before  the  hot  breath 
of  the  storm  he  felt  already  in  his  face  such  advice  was 
a  waste  of  words.  He  would  tell  them  the  simple  truth. 
He  could  do  most  good  in  that  way.  These  fiery,  im 
pulsive  Southern  people  were  tired  of  argument,  tired 
of  compromise,  tired  of  delay.  They  were  reared  in  the 
faith  that  their  States  were  sovereign.  And  these  Vir 
ginians  had  good  reason  for  their  faith.  The  bankers 
of  Europe  had  but  yesterday  refused  to  buy  the  bonds 
of  the  United  States  Government  unless  countersigned 
by  the  State  of  Virginia ! 

These  people  not  only  believed  in  the  sovereignty  of 
their  States  and  their  right  to  withdraw  from  the  Union 
when  they  saw  fit,  but  they  could  not  conceive  the  mad 
ness  of  the  remaining  States  attempting  to  use  force 
to  hold  them.  They  knew,  too,  that  millions  of  North 
ern  voters  were  as  clear  on  that  point  as  the  people  of 
the  South. 

Their  spokesman,  Horace  Greeley,  in  The  Tribune 
had  said  again  and  again: 

"  If  the  Southern  States  are  mad  enough  to  withdraw 
from  the  Union,  they  must  go.  We  cannot  prevent  it. 
Let  our  erring  sisters  go  in  peace." 

The  people  before  him  believed  that  Horace  Greeley's 
paper  represented  the  North  in  this  utterance.  Davis 
knew  that  it  was  not  true. 

In  a  flash  of  clear  soul  vision  he  saw  the  inevitable  hor- 
127 


THE  VICTIM 


ror  of  the  coming  struggle  and  determined  to  tell  the 
people  so. 

The  message  he  delivered  was  a  distinct  shock.  He 
not  only  told  them  in  tones  of  deep  and  tender  emotion 
that  war  was  inevitable,  but  that  it  would  be  long  and 
bloody. 

"  We'll  lick  'em  in  two  months ! "  a  voice  yelled  in 
protest  and  the  crowd  cheered. 

The  leader  shook  his  fine  head. 

"  Don't  deceive  yourselves,  my  friends.  War  once 
begun,  no  man  can  predict  its  end  — " 

"  It  won't  begin !  "  another  cried. 

"  You  have  convinced  me  to-day  that  it  is  now  in 
evitable." 

"  The  Yankees  won't  fight!  "  shouted  a  big  fellow  in 
front. 

The  speaker  bent  his  gaze  on  the  stalwart  figure  in 
remonstrance. 

"  You  never  made  a  worse  mistake  in  your  life,  my 
friend.  I  warn  you  —  I  know  these  Yankees.  Once  in 
it  they'll  fight  with  grim,  dogged,  sullen,  unyielding 
courage.  We're  men  of  the  same  blood.  They  live 
North,  you  South  —  that's  all  the  difference." 

At  every  station  the  same  scene  was  enacted.  The 
crowd  rushed  around  his  car  with  the  sudden  sweep  of 
a  whirlwind,  and  left  for  their  homes  with  grave, 
thoughtful  faces. 

By  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  he  was  thoroughly 
exhausted  by  the  strain.  The  eager  crowds  had  sapped 
his  last  ounce  of  vitality. 

The  conductor  of  the  train  looked  at  him  with  pity 
and  whispered: 

"  I'll  save  you  at  the  next  station." 

The  leader  smiled  his  gratitude  for  the  sympathy  but 
wondered  how  it  could  be  done. 

At  the  next  stop,  the  Senator  had  just  taken  his  po- 

128 


THE  STORM  CENTER 


sition  on  the  rear  platform,  lifted  his  hand  for  silence 
and  said: 

"  Friends  and  fellow  citizens  — " 

The  engine  suddenly  blew  off  steam  with  hiss  and 
roar  and  when  it  ceased  the  train  pulled  out  with  a  jerk 
amid  the  shouts  and  protests  of  the  crowd.  The  grate 
ful  speaker  waved  his  hand  in  regretful  but  happy  fare 
well. 

The  conductor  repeated  the  trick  for  three  stations 
until  the  exhausted  speaker  had  recovered  his  strength 
and  then  allowed  him  a  few  brief  remarks  at  each 
stop. 

From  the  moment  the  train  entered  the  State  of  Mis 
sissippi,  grim,  earnest  men  in  groups  of  two,  three,  four 
and  a  dozen  stepped  on  board,  saluted  their  Chief  and 
took  their  seats. 

When  the  engine  pulled  into  the  station  at  Jackson 
a  full  brigade  of  volunteer  soldiers  had  taken  their 
places  in  the  ranks. 

The  Governor  and  state  officials  met  their  leader 
and  grasped  his  hand. 

"  You  have  been  commissioned,  Senator,"  the  Gov 
ernor  began  eagerly,  "  as  Major-General  in  command 
of  the  forces  of  the  State  of  Mississippi.  Four  Briga 
dier-Generals  have  been  appointed  and  await  your  as 
signment  for  duty." 

The  tall  figure  of  the  hero  of  Buena  Vista  suddenly 
stiffened. 

"  I  thank  you,  Governor,  for  the  high  honor  con 
ferred  on  me.  No  service  could  be  more  congenial  to 
my  feelings  at  this  moment." 

The  Governor  waved  his  hand  at  the  crowd  of  silent 
waiting  men.  "  Your  men  are  ready  —  the  first  ques 
tion  is  the  purchase  of  arms.  I  think  a  stand  of  75,- 
000  will  be  sufficient  for  all  contingencies?  " 

The  Senator  spoke  with  emphasis : 
10  129 


THE  VICTIM 


"  The  limit  of  your  purchases  should  be  our  power  to 
pay—" 

"  You  can't  mean  it !  "  the  Governor  exclaimed. 

"  I  repeat  it  —  the  limit  of  your  purchase  of  arms 
should  be  the  power  to  pay.  I  say  this  to  every  State 
in  the  South.  We  shall  need  all  we  can  get  and  many 
more  I  fear." 

The  Governor  laughed. 

"  General,  you  overrate  our  risks ! " 

"  On  the  other  hand,"  Davis  continued  earnestly, 
"  we  are  sure  to  underestimate  them  at  every  turn." 

He  paused,  overcome  with  emotion. 

"  A  great  war  is  impending,  Governor,  whose  end  no 
man  can  foresee.  We  are  not  prepared  for  it.  We 
have  no  arms,  we  have  no  ammunition  and  we  have  no 
establishments  to  manufacture  them.  The  South  has 
never  realized  and  does  not  now  believe  that  the  North 
will  fight  her  on  the  issue  of  secession.  They  do  not 
understand  the  silent  growth  of  the  power  of  central 
ization  which  has  changed  the  opinions  of  the  North 
under  the  teaching  of  Abolition  fanatics  — " 

Again  he  paused,  overcome. 

"  God  help  us  !  "  he  continued.  "  War  is  a  terrible 
calamity  even  when  waged  against  aliens  and  strangers 
—  our  people  are  mad.  They  know  not  what  they 
do ! " 

The  new  Commander  hurried  to  Briarfield,  his  plan 
tation  home,  to  complete  his  preparations  for  a  long 
absence. 

Socola  on  a  sudden  impulse  asked  the  honor  of  ac 
companying  him.  It  was  granted  without  question 
and  with  cordial  hospitality. 

It  was  an  opportunity  not  to  be  lost.  An  intimate 
view  of  this  man  in  his  home  might  be  of  the  utmost  im 
portance.  He  promised  J'ennie  to  hasten  to  Fairview 
when  he  had  spent  two  days  at  Briarfield.  Mrs.  Bar- 
ISO 


THE  STORM  CENTER 


ton  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  set  her  house  in 
order  for  her  charming  and  interesting  guest. 

The  Davis  plantation  was  a  distinct  shock  to  his  fixed 
New  England  ideas  of  the  hellish  institution  of  Slavery. 

The  devotion  of  these  simple  black  men  and  women 
to  their  master  was  not  only  genuine,  it  was  pathetic. 
He  had  never  before  conceived  the  abject  depths  to 
which  a  human  being  might  sink  in  contentment  with 
chains. 

And  he  had  come  to  break  chains!  These  poor  ig 
norant  blacks  kissed  the  hand  that  bound  them  and 
called  him  their  best  friend. 

The  man  they  called  master  actually  moved  among 
them,  a  minister  of  love  and  mercy.  He  advised  the 
negroes  about  the  care  of  their  families  in  his  long  ab 
sence.  He  talked  as  a  Hebrew  Patriarch  to  his  chil 
dren.  He  urged  the  younger  men  and  women  to  look 
after  the  old  and  helpless. 

He  was  particularly  solicitous  about  Bob,  the  oldest 
man  on  the  place.  Over  and  over  again  he  enumerated 
the  comforts  he  thought  he  might  need  and  made  pro 
vision  to  supply  them.  He  sent  him  enough  cochineal 
flannel  for  his  rheumatism  to  wrap  him  four-ply  deep. 
For  Rhinah,  his  wife,  he  ordered  enough  flannel  blan 
kets  for  two  families. 

"  Is  there  anything  else  you  can  think  of,  Uncle 
Bob?  "he  asked  kindly. 

The  old  man  scratched  his  gray  head  and  hesitated, 
looked  into  his  master's  face,  smiled  and  said : 

"  I  would  like  one  er  dem  rockin'  cheers  outen  de  big 
house,  Marse  Jeff. —  yassah !  " 

"  Of  course,  you  shall  have  it.  Come  right  up,  you 
and  Rhinah,  and  pick  out  the  two  you  like  best." 

With  suppressed  laughter  Socola  watched  the  old  ne 
groes  try  each  chair  in  the  hallway  and  finally  select  the 
two  best  rockers  in  the  house. 

131 


THE  VICTIM 


The  Southern  leader  was  obviously  careworn  and  un 
happy.  Socola  found  his  heart  unconsciously  going 
out  to  him  in  sympathy. 

Assuming  carefully  his  attitude  of  foreign  detached 
interest,  the  young  man  sought  to  draw  him  out. 

"  You  have  given  up  all  hope  of  adjustment  and  re 
union  with  the  North?  "  he  asked. 

"  No,"  was  the  thoughtful  reply,  "  not  until  the  first 
blood  is  spilled." 

"  Your  people  must  see,  Senator,  that  secession  will 
imperil  the  existence  of  their  three  thousand  millions  of 
dollars  invested  in  slaves  ?  " 

"  Certainly  they  see  it,"  was  the  quick  answer. 
"  Slavery  can  never  survive  the  first  shot  of  war,  no 
matter  which  side  wins.  If  the  North  wins,  we  must 
free  them,  or  else  maintain  a  standing  army  on  our  bor 
ders  for  all  time.  It  would  be  unthinkable.  Rivers 
are  bad  boundaries.  We  could  have  no  others.  Fools  , 
have  said  and  will  continue  to  say  that  we  are  fighting 
to  establish  a  slave  empire.  Nothing  could  be  further 
from  the  truth.  We  are  seeking  to  find  that  peace  and 
tranquillity  outside  the  Union  we  have  not  been  able  to 
enjoy  for  the  past  forty  years  inside.  If  the  South 
ern  States  enact  a  Constitution  of  their  own,  they  will 
merely  reaffirm  the  Constitution  of  their  fathers  with 
no  essential  change.  The  North  is  leading  a  revolu 
tion,  not  the  South. 

"  Not  one  man  in  twenty  down  here  owns  a  slave. 
The  South  would  never  fight  to  maintain  Slavery.  We 
know  that  it  is  doomed.  We  simply  demand  as  the  sons 
of  the  men  who  created  this  Republic,  equal  rights  un 
der  its  laws.  If  we  fight,  it  will  be  for  our  independence 
as  freemen  that  we  may  maintain  those  rights." 

"  I  must  confess,  sir,"  Socola  replied  with  carefully 
modulated  voice,  "  that  I  fail  to  see  as  a  student  from 
without,  why,  if  Slavery  is  doomed  and  your  leaders 

132 


THE  STORM  CENTER 


realize  that  fact,  a  compromise  without  bloodshed 
would  not  be  possible?  " 

"  If  Slavery  were  the  only  issue,  it  would  be  possible 
—  although  as  a  proud  and  sensitive  people  we  propose 
to  be  the  judge  of  the  time  when  we  see  fit  to  emanci 
pate  our  slaves.  Abolition  fanatics,  whose  fathers  sold 
their  slaves  to  us,  can't  dictate  to  the  South  on  such  a 
moral  issue." 

"  I  see  —  your  pride  is  involved." 

"  Not  merely  pride  —  our  self-respect.  In  1831  be 
fore  the  Northern  Abolitionists  began  their  crusade  of 
violence  there  were  one  hundred  four  abolition  societies 
in  America  —  ninety-eight  of  them  in  the  South  and 
only  six  in  the  entire  North.  But  the  South  grew  rich. 
At  the  bottom  of  our  whole  trouble  lies  the  issue  of  sec 
tional  power.  New  England  threatened  to  secede  from 
the  Union  when  we  added  the  Territory  of  Louisiana 
to  our  domain,  out  of  which  we  have  carved  seven  great 
States.  Slavery  at  that  time  was  not  an  issue.  Sec 
tional  rivalry  and  sectional  hatred  antedates  even  our 
fight  against  England  for  our  freedom.  Washington 
was  compelled  to  warn  his  soldiers  when  they  entered 
New  England  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  offense.  The 
Governor  of  Massachusetts  refused  to  call  on  George 
Washington,  the  first  President  of  the  Union,  when  he 
visited  Boston. 

"  And  mark  you,  back  of  the  sectional  issue  looms  a 
vastly  bigger  one  —  whether  the  Union  is  a  Republic 
of  republics  or  a  Centralized  Empire.  The  millions  of 
foreigners  who  have  poured  into  the  North  from  Eu 
rope  during  the  past  thirty  years,  until  their  white 
population  outnumbers  ours  four  to  one,  know  noth 
ing  and  care  nothing  about  the  Constitution  of  our 
fathers.  They  know  nothing  and  care  nothing  for  the 
principles  on  which  the  Federal  Union  was  founded. 
They  came  from  empires.  They  think  as  their  fathers 

133 


THE  VICTIM 


thought  in  Europe.  And  they  are  driving  the  sons  of 
the  old  Revolution  in  the  North  into  the  acceptance  of 
the  ideas  of  centralized  power.  If  this  tendency  con 
tinues  the  President  of  the  United  States  will  become  the 
most  autocratic  ruler  of  the  world.  The  South  stands 
for  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  as  the  only  bulwark 
against  the  growth  of  this  irresponsible  centralized 
despotism.  The  Democratic  party  of  the  North, 
thank  God,  yet  stands  with  us  on  that  issue.  Our  only 
possible  hope  of  success  in  case  of  war  lies  in  this 
fact  —" 

Socola  suddenly  started. 

"  Quite  so  —  I  see  —  The  North  may  be  divided, 
the  South  will  be  a  unit." 

"  Exactly ;  they'll  fight  as  one  man  if  they  must." 

The  longer  Socola  talked  with  this  pale,  earnest,  self- 
poised  man,  the  deeper  grew  the  conviction  of  his  utter 
sincerity,  his  singleness  of  purpose,  his  pure  and  lofty 
patriotism.  His  conception  of  the  man  and  his  aims 
had  completely  changed  and  with  this  change  of  esti 
mate  came  the  deeper  conviction  of  the  vastness  of  the 
tragedy  toward  which  the  Nation  was  being  hurled  by 
some  hidden,  resistless  power.  He  had  come  into  the 
South  with  a  sense  of  moral  superiority  and  the  con 
sciousness  not  only  of  the  righteousness  of  his  cause 
but  the  certainty  that  God  would  swiftly  confound  the 
enemies  of  the  Union.  He  had  waked  with  a  shock  to 
the  certainty  that  they  were  entering  the  arena  of  the 
mightiest  conflict  of  the  century. 

He  girded  his  soul  anew  for  the  role  he  had  chosen 
to  play.  The  character  of  this  Southern  leader  held 
for  him  an  endless  fascination.  It  was  part  of  his  mis 
sion  to  study  him  and  he  lost  no  opportunity.  The 
greatest  surprise  he  received  during  his  stay  was  the 
day  of  the  election  of  President  at  Montgomery.  He 
had  expected  to  be  present  at  this  meeting  of  the  South- 

134 


THE  STORM  CENTER 


ern  Convention  but,  hearing  that  it  would  be  held  be 
hind  closed  doors,  had  decided  on  his  visit  to  Briar- 
field. 

A  messenger  dashed  up  to  the  gate,  sprang  from  his 
horse,  hurried  into  the  garden,  thrust  a  telegram  into 
the  Senator's  hand. 

He  opened  it  without  haste,  and  read  it  slowly.  His 
face  went  white  and  he  crushed  the  piece  of  paper  with 
a  sudden  gesture  of  despair.  For  a  moment  he  forgot 
his  guest,  his  head  was  raised  as  if  in  prayer  and  from 
the  depths  came  the  agonizing  cry  of  a  soul  in  mortal 
anguish : 

"  Lord,  God,  if  it  be  possible  let  this  cup  pass 
from  me ! " 

A  moment  of  dazed  silence  and  he  turned  to  Socola. 
He  spoke  as  a  judge  pronouncing  his  own  sentence  of 
death.  His  voice  trembled  with  despair  and  his  lips 
twitched  with  pitiful  suffering. 

"  I  have  been  elected  President  of  the  Southern  Con 
federacy  ! " 

He  handed  the  telegram  to  Socola,  who  scanned  it 
with  thrilling  interest.  He  had  half  expected  this  an 
nouncement  from  the  first.  What  he  could  not  dream 
was  the  remarkable  way  in  which  the  Southern  leader 
would  receive  it. 

"  You  are  a  foreigner,  Signor.  I  may  be  permitted 
to  speak  freely  to  you.  You  are  a  man  of  culture  and 
sympathy  and  you  can  understand  me.  As  God  is  my 
judge,  I  have  neither  desired  nor  expected  this  position. 
I  took  particular  pains  to  forestall  and  make  it  impos 
sible.  But  it  has  come.  I  am  not  a  politician.  I  have 
never  stooped  to  their  tricks.  I  cannot  lie  and  smile 
and  bend  to  low  chicanery.  I  hate  a  fool  and  I  cannot 
hedge  and  trim  and  be  all  things  to  all  men.  I  have 
never  been  a  demagogue.  I'm  too  old  to  begin.  Other 
men  are  better  suited  to  this  position  than  I  — " 

135 


THE  VICTIM 


He  paused,  overcome.  Socola  studied  him  with  sur 
prise. 

"  Permit  me  to  say,  sir,"  he  ventured  disinterestedly, 
"  that  such  a  spirit  is  evidence  that  your  people  have 
risen  to  the  occasion  and  that  their  choice  may  be  an 
inspiration." 

The  leader's  eye  suddenly  pierced  his  guest's. 

"  God  knows  what  is  best.  It  may  be  His  hand.  It 
may  be  that  I  must  bow  to  His  will  — " 

Again  he  paused  and  looked  wistfully  at  Socola's 
youthful  face. 

"  You  are  young,  Signor  —  you  do  not  know  what 
it  is  to  yield  the  last  ambition  of  life !  I  have  given  all 
to  my  country  for  the  past  years.  I  have  sacrificed 
health  and  wealth  and  every  desire  of  my  soul  —  peace 
and  contentment  here  with  those  I  love !  When  I  saw 
this  mighty  struggle  coming,  I  feared  a  tragic  end 
for  my  people.  I  fear  it  now.  The  man  who  leads  her 
armies  will  win  immortality  no  matter  what  the  fate  of 
her  cause  —  I've  dreamed  of  this,  Signor  —  but  they've 
nailed  me  to  the  cross !  " 

He  called  his  negroes  together  and  made  them  an  af 
fectionate  speech.  They  responded  with  deep  expres 
sions  of  their  devotion  and  their  faith.  With  the  great 
est  sorrow  of  life  darkening  his  soul  he  left  next  day 
for  his  inauguration  at  Montgomery. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  OLD  REGIME 

Socola  left  Briarfield  with  the  assurance  of  the  Presi 
dent-elect  of  the  Confederacy  that  he  might  spend  a 
week  with  the  Bartons  and  yet  be  in  ample  time  for  the 
inauguration  at  Montgomery. 

He  boarded  the  steamer  at  the  Davis  landing  and 
floated  lazily  down  to  Baton  Rouge. 

From  Briarfield  he  carried  an  overwhelming  impres 
sion  of  the  folly  of  Slavery  from  its  economic  point  of 
view.  The  thing  which  amazed  his  orderly  New  Eng 
land  mind  was  the  confusion,  the  waste,  the  senti 
mental  extravagance,  the  sheer  idiocy  of  the  slave 
system  of  labor  as  contrasted  with  the  free  labor  of 
the  North. 

The  one  symbol  before  his  vivid  imagination  was  the 
sight  of  old  Uncle  Bob  and  Aunt  Rhinah  seated  in 
their  rocking  chairs  gravely  listening  to  the  patriarchal 
farewell  of  their  master.  The  ancient  seers  dreamed  of 
Nirvana.  These  two  wonderful  old  Africans  had  surely 
found  it  in  the  new  world.  No  wave  of  trouble  could 
ever  roll  across  their  peaceful  breasts  so  long  as  their 
lord  and  master  lived.  He  was  their  king,  their  pro 
tector,  their  physician,  their  almoner,  their  friend. 
The  burden  of  life  was  on  his  shoulders,  not  on  theirs. 
Their  working  days  were  over.  He  must  feed  and 
clothe,  house  and  care  for  their  worthless  bodies  unto 
the  end.  And  the  number  of  these  helpless  ones  were 
constantly  increased. 

He  marveled  at  the  folly  that  imagined  such  a  system 
137 


THE  VICTIM 


of  labor  possible  in  a  real  world  where  the  iron  laws  of 
economic  survival  were  allowed  free  play.  He  ceased  to 
wonder  why  it  still  flourished  in  the  South.  The  South 
was  yet  an  unsettled  jungle  of  bewildering  tropical 
beauty.  One  might  travel  for  miles  and  hundreds  of 
miles  without  the  sight  of  a  single  important  town. 
Vast  reaches  of  untouched  forests  stretched  away  in  all 
directions.  Apparently  the  foot  of  man  had  never 
pressed  them.  Rich  plantations  of  thousands  of  acres 
were  only  scratched  in  spots  to  yield  their  marvelous 
harvests  of  cotton  and  cane,  of  rice  and  corn. 

The  idea  of  defending  such  a  territory,  extending 
over  thousands  of  miles,  from  the  invading  hosts  of  the 
rich  and  densely  populated  North  was  preposterous. 
His  heart  leaped  with  the  certainty  of  swift  and  sure 
triumph  for  the  Union  should  the  question  be  submitted 
to  the  test  of  the  sword. 

As  the  boat  touched  her  landing  at  Baton  Rouge, 
Jennie  waved  her  welcome  from  the  shore.  The  grace 
ful  figure  of  her  younger  brother  stood  straight  and 
trim  by  her  side  in  his  new  volunteer  uniform.  What 
ever  the  political  leaders  might  think  or  do,  these  South 
ern  people  meant  to  fight.  There  was  no  mistaking 
that  fact.  With  every  letter  to  his  Chief  in  Washing 
ton  he  had  made  this  plain.  The  deeper  he  had  pene 
trated  the  lower  South  the  more  overwhelming  this 
conviction  had  become. 

For  the  moment  he  put  the  thought  of  his  tragic  mis 
sion  out  of  his  heart.  There  was  something  wonderful 
in  the  breath  of  this  early  Southern  spring.  The  first 
week  in  February  and  flowers  were  blooming  on  every 
lawn  of  every  embowered  cottage  and  every  stately 
house !  The  song  of  birds,  the  hum  of  bees,  the  sweet 
languor  of  the  perfumed  air  found  his  inmost  soul.  The 
snows  lay  cold  and  still  and  deathlike  over  the  Northern 
world. 

138 


THE  OLD  REGIME 


This  was  fairyland. 

And  the  Bartons'  home  on  the  banks  of  the  river  was 
the  last  touch  that  completed  the  capture  of  his  imagina 
tion.  Through  a  vista  of  overhanging  boughs  he 
caught  the  flash'  of  its  white  fluted  pillars  in  the  dis 
tance.  The  broad  verandas  were  arched  with  climbing 
roses.  In  the  center  of  the  sunlit  space  in  front  a  foun 
tain  played,  the  splash  of  its  cooling  waters  keeping 
time  to  the  song  of  mocking  birds  in  shrubs  and  trees. 
In  the  spacious  grounds  which  swept  to  the  water's  edge 
more  than  a  thousand  magnificent  trees  spread  their 
cooling  shade.  The  white  rays  of  the  Southern  sun 
shot  through  them  like  silver  threads  and  glowed  here 
and  there  in  the  changing,  shimmering  splotches  on  the 
ground. 

And  everywhere  the  grinning  faces  of  slowly  moving 
negroes.  The  very  rhythm  of  their  lazy  walk  seemed  a 
part  of  the  landscape. 

This  fairy  world  belonged  to  his  country.  His  heart 
went  out  in  renewed  devotion.  Not  one  shining  South 
ern  star  should  ever  be  torn  from  her  diadem!  He 
swore  it. 

For  three  days  he  bathed  in  the  beauty  and  joy  of  a 
Southern  home.  He  saw  but  little  of  Jennie.  The 
boys  absorbed  him.  They  were  eager  for  news.  They 
plied  him  with  a  thousand  questions.  Tom  was  going 
to  join  the  navy,  Jimmie  and  Billy  the  army. 

"  Would  the  United  States  Army  stand  by  the  old 
flag?  "  Tom  asked  with  painful  eagerness. 

Socola  was  non-committal. 

"  As  a  rule  the  sailor  is  loyal  to  the  flag  of  his  ship. 
It's  the  symbol  of  home,  of  country,  of  all  he  holds 
dear." 

"That's  so,  too,"  Tom  answered  thoughtfully. 
"  Well,  we'll  build  a  navy.  We  built  the  old  one.  We 
can  build  a  new  one !  "  , 

139 


THE  VICTIM 


The  last  night  he  spent  at  Fairview  was  one  never  to 
be  forgotten.  It  gave  him  another  picture  of  the  old 
regime.  They  sat  on  the  great  pillared  front  porch 
looking  out  on  the  silvery  surface  of  the  moonlit  river. 
Jennie's  grandfather,  Colonel  James  Barton,  a  stately 
man  of  eighty-five,  who  had  led  a  regiment  with  Jeffer 
son  Davis  in  the  Mexican  War,  though  at  that  time 
long  past  the  age  of  military  service,  honored  them  with 
his  presence  to  a  late  hour. 

His  eyes  were  failing  but  his  voice  was  stentorian. 
Its  tones  had  been  developed  to  even  deeper  power  dur 
ing  the  past  ten  years  owing  to  the  deafness  of  his  wife. 
This  beautiful  old  woman  sat  softly  rocking  beside  the 
Colonel,  answering  in  gentle  monosyllables  the  questions 
he  roared  into  her  ears. 

To  escape  the  volume  of  the  Colonel's  conversation 
Socola  asked  Jennie  to  walk  to  the  river's  edge. 

They  sat  down  on  a  bench  perched  high  on  the  bluff 
which  rose  abruptly  from  the  water  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  grounds.  The  scene  was  one  of  memorable  beauty. 

He  laughed  at  the  folly  of  his  schemes  to  learn  the 
inner  secrets  of  the  South.  These  people  had  no  se 
crets.  They  wore  their  hearts  on  their  sleeves.  He 
had  only  to  ask  a  question  to  receive  the  answer  direct 
without  reserve. 

"  Your  three  younger  brothers  will  fight  for  the 
South,  of  course,  Miss  Jennie?  " 

"  Of  course  —  I  only  wish  I  were  a  man !  " 

"  You  have  an  older  brother  in  New  Orleans,  I  be 
lieve?" 

"  Judge  Barton,  yes." 

"  He,  too,  will  enter  the  army  ?  " 

The  girl  drew  a  deep  breath  and  hesitated. 

"  He  says  he  will  not.  He  is  bitterly  opposed  to  my 
father's  views." 

Socola's  eyes  sparkled. 

140 


THE  OLD  REGIME 


"  He  is  for  the  Union  then?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  He  is  a  man  of  decided  views  and  character  I 
take  it." 

"  Yes  —  as  firm  and  unyielding  in  his  position  as  my 
father  on  the  other  side." 

"  You  will  be  very  bitter  towards  him  if  war  should 
come?  " 

"  Bitter?  "  A  little  sob  caught  her  voice.  "  He  is 
my  Big  Brother.  I  love  him.  It  would  break  my  heart 
—  that's  all  —  but  I'll  love  him  always." 

Her  tones  were  music,  her  loyalty  to  her  own  so  sweet 
in  its  simplicity,  so  utterly  charming,  he  opened  his  lips 
to  speak  the  first  words  to  test  her  personal  attitude 
toward  him.  A  flirtation  would  be  delightful  with  such 
a  girl.  And  Mr.  Dick  Welford  was  a  fearful  tempta 
tion.  He  put  the  thought  out  of  his  heart.  She  was 
too  good  and  fine  to  be  made  a  pawn  in  such  a  game. 
Beside  it  was  utterly  unnecessary. 

He  had  gotten  exactly  the  information  about  this 
older  brother  in  New  Orleans  he  desired  and  sat  in 
brooding  silence. 

Jennie  rose  suddenly. 

"  Oh,  I  forgot  —  I  must  go  in.  My  maids  are  wait 
ing  for  me.  I've  an  affair  to  settle  between  them  be 
fore  they  go  to  bed." 

Socola  accompanied  her  to  the  door  and  turned  again 
on  the  lawn  to  enjoy  the  white  glory  of  the  Southern 
moon.  The  lights  were  still  twinkling  in  the  long  rows 
of  negro  cabins  that  lined  the  way  to  the  overseer's 
house.  Through  the  shadows  of  the  trees  he  could  see 
the  dark  figures  in  the  doorways  of  their  cabins 
silhouetted  against  the  lighted  candles  in  the  back 
ground. 

He  strolled  leisurely  into  the  lower  hall.  The  door 
of  the  library  was  open.  He  paused  at  the  scene 


THE  VICTIM 


within.  A  group  of  four  little  negro  girls  surrounded 
Jennie.  She  was  reading  the  Bible  to  them. 

"  Can't  you  say  your  prayers  together  to-night?  " 
the  young  mistress  asked. 

The  kinky  heads  shook  emphatically. 

Lucy  couldn't  say  hers  with  Amy: 

"  'Cause  she  ain't  got  no  brother  and  sister  to  pray 
for." 

Maggie  couldn't  say  hers  with  Mandy: 

"  'Cause  she  ain't  got  no  mother  and  father." 

So  each  repeated  her  prayer  alone  and  stood  before 
their  little  mistress  who  sat  in  judgment  on  their  day's 
deeds. 

Lucy  had  jabbed  a  carving  knife  into  Amy's  arm  in 
a  fit  of  temper.  Her  prayer  had  made  no  mention  of 
this  important  fact.  The  judge  gave  a  tender  lecture 
on  the  need  of  repentance.  The  little  sullen  black  fig 
ure  hung  back  stubbornly  for  a  moment  and  walled  her 
eyes  at  her  enemy.  A  sudden  burst  of  tears  and  they 
were  in  each  other's  arms,  crying  and  begging  forgive 
ness.  And  then  they  filed  out,  one  by  one. 

"  Good  night,  Miss  Jennie !  " 

"  Good  night !  " 

"  God  bless  you,  Miss  Jennie  — " 

"  I'll  never  be  bad  no  mo' !  " 

He  had  come  to  break  the  chains  that  cut  through 
human  flesh  and  he  had  found  this  —  great  God ! 

For  hours  he  lay  awake,  dreaming  with  wide  staring 
eyes  of  the  long  blood-stained  history  of  human  Slavery 
and  its  sharp  contrast  with  the  strange  travesty  of  such 
an  institution  which  the  South  was  giving  to  the  world. 

He  had  barely  lost  consciousness  when  he  leaped  to 
the  floor,  roused  by  loud  voices,  tramping  feet  and  the 
flash  of  weird  lights  on  the  lawn.  Growls  and  long  calls 
echoed  from  point  to  point  on  the  spacious  grounds, 
hulloes  and  echoing  answers  and  the  tramp  of  many  feet. 

142 


THE  OLD  REGIME 


Some  horrible  thing  had  happened  —  sudden  death, 
murder  or  war  had  broken  out.  A  voice  was  screaming 
from  the  balcony  aloft  that  sounded  like  the  trumpet  of 
the  arch-angel  calling  the  end  of  time. 

He  listened. 

It  was  old  Colonel  Barton  yelling  at  the  sleepy  ne 
groes.  In  heaven's  high  name  what  could  they  be  do 
ing? 

Socola  dressed  hastily  and  rushed  down-stairs.  Jen 
nie  and  the  boys  appeared  almost  at  the  same  moment. 

"  What  is  it?  "  Socola  asked  excitedly.  "War  has 
been  declared  ?  The  slaves  have  risen  ?  " 

Jennie  laughed. 

"  No  —  no !  Grandmamma  smells  a  smell.  She 
thinks  something  is  burning  somewhere." 

"  Oh  — " 

The  whole  place,  house,  yard,  grounds,  outhouses, 
swarmed  with  bellowing  negroes.  Those  that  were  not 
bellowing  were  muttering  in  sleepy,  quarrelsome  protest. 

And  they  all  carried  candles  to  look  for  a  fire  in  the 
dark ! 

There  were  at  least  seventy  —  two-thirds  of  them 
too  old  or  too  young  to  be  of  any  service,  but  they  be 
longed  to  the  house. 

The  old  Colonel's  voice  could  be  heard  a  mile.  In 
his  nightgown  he  was  roaring  from  the  balcony,  giving 
his  orders  for  the  busy  crowd  hunting  for  fire  with  their 
candles  flickering  in  the  shadows. 

Old  Mrs.  Barton,  serenely  deaf,  was  of  course  ob 
livious  of  the  sensation  she  had  created.  The  loss  of 
her  hearing  had  rendered  doubly  acute  her  sense  of 
smell.  Candles  had  to  be  taken  out  of  her  room  to  be 
snuffed.  Lamps  were  extinguished  only  on  the  portico 
or  on  the  lawn.  Violets  she  couldn't  endure.  A  tea 
rose  was  never  allowed  in  her  room.  Only  one  kind  of 
sweet  rose  would  she  tolerate  at  close  range. 

143 


THE  VICTIM 


In  the  mildest  voice  she  was  suggesting  places  to  be 
searched. 

Far  out  at  the  negro  quarters  the  candle  brigade  at 
length  gathered  —  the  flickering  lights  closing  in  to  a 
single  point  one  by  one. 

The  smell  was  found. 

A  family  had  been  boiling  soap  —  a  slave-ridden 
plantation  was  a  miniature  world  which  must  be  prac 
tically  self-supporting.  There  could  be  no  economy  of 
labor  by  its  scientific  division.  Around  the  soap  pot 
the  negro  woman  had  swept  some  woolen  rags.  They 
were  smoldering  there  and  the  faint  odor  had  been 
wafted  to  the  great  house. 

Socola  couldn't  sleep.  All  night  long  he  could  hear 
that  wild  commotion  —  the  old  Colonel's  voice  roaring 
from  the  balcony  and  seventy  sleepy,  good-for-nothing 
negroes  with  lighted  candles  looking  for  a  fire  in  the 
dark.  When  at  last  he  was  tired  of  laughing  at  the  ri 
diculous  picture,  his  foolish  fancy  took  another  turn 
and  fixed  itself  again  on  old  Bob  and  Aunt  Rhinah  in 
their  rocking  chairs,  swathed  in  cochineal  flannel. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  GAUGE  OF  BATTLE 

Socola  found  the  little  town  of  Montgomery,  Ala 
bama,  breathing  under  a  suppression  of  emotion  that 
was  little  short  of  uncanny  on  the  day  Jefferson  Davis 
was  inaugurated  President. 

The  streets  were  crowded  to  suffocation  and  tents 
were  necessary  to  accommodate  the  people  who  could 
not  be  housed. 

He  was  surprised  at  the  strange  quiet  which  the 
spirit  of  the  new  President  had  communicated  to  the 
people.  There  was  no  loud  talk,  no  braggadocio,  no 
threats,  no  clamor  for  war.  On  the  contrary  there  had 
suddenly  developed  an  overwhelming  desire  for  a  peace 
ful  solution  of  the  crisis. 

The  Convention  which  had  unanimously  elected  Jef 
ferson  Davis,  President,  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens, 
Vice  President,  had  relegated  the  hot  heads  and  fire 
eaters  to  the  rear. 

Three  great  agitators  had  really  created  the  new  na 
tion,  William  L.  Yancey  of  Alabama,  Robert  Toombs  of 
Georgia  and  Barnwell  Rhett  of  South  Carolina.  And 
they  were  consumed  with  ambition  for  the  Presidency. 

Toombs  was  the  most  commanding  figure  among  the 
uncompromising  advocates  of  secession  in  the  South  — 
an  orator  of  consummate  power,  a  man  of  wide  learning 
and  magnetic  personality.  William  L.  Yancey  was  as 
powerful  an  agitator  as  ever  stirred  the  souls  of  an 
American  audience  since  the  foundation  of  our  Repub 
lic.  Barnwell  Rhett  of  the  Charleston  Mercury  was 
11  145 


THE  VICTIM 


the  most  influential  editor  the  country  had  ever  pro 
duced. 

Yet  the  suddenness  with  which  these  fiery  leaders  were 
dropped  in  the  hour  of  crisis  was  so  amazing  to  the 
men  themselves  they  had  not  yet  recovered  sufficient 
breath  to  begin  complaints. 

Toombs  destroyed  what  chance  he  ever  had  by  get 
ting  drunk  at  a  banquet  the  night  before  the  Conven 
tion  met.  William  L.  Yancey's  turbulent  history  ruled 
him  out  of  consideration.  He  had  killed  his  father-in- 
law  in  a  street  brawl.  Rhett's  extreme  views  had  been 
the  bugle  call  to  battle  but  something  more  than  sound 
was  needed  now. 

Toombs  was  dropped  even  for  Vice-President  for 
Alexander  H.  Stephens,  the  man  who  had  pleaded  in 
tears  with  his  State  not  to  secede. 

The  highest  honor  had  been  forced  on  the  one  man  in 
all  the  South  who  most  passionately  wished  to  avoid  it. 

So  acute  was  the  consciousness  of  tragedy  there  was 
scarcely  a  ripple  of  applause  at  public  functions  where 
Socola  had  looked  for  mad  enthusiasm. 

The  old  Constitution  had  been  reenacted  with  no  es 
sential  change.  The  new  President  had  even  insisted 
that  the  Provisional  Congress  retain  the  old  flag  as  their 
emblem  of  nationality  with  only  a  new  battle  flag  for 
use  in  case  of  war.  The  Congress  over-ruled  him  at 
this  point  with  an  emphasis  which  they  meant  as  a  re 
buke  to  his  tendency  to  cling  to  the  hope  of  reconcilia 
tion. 

It  was  exactly  one  o'clock  on  Monday,  February  18, 
1861,  that  Jefferson  Davis  rose  between  the  towering 
pillars  of  the  State  Capitol  in  Montgomery  and  be 
gan  his  inaugural  address.  It  was  careful,  moderate, 
statesmanlike,  and  a  model  of  classic  English.  The 
closing  sentence  swept  the  crowd. 

"  It  is  joyous  in  the  midst  of  perilous  times  to  look 
146 


THE  GAUGE  OF  BATTLE 

thus  upon  a  people  united  in  heart,  whose  one  purpose 
of  high  resolve  animates  and  actuates  the  whole ;  where 
the  sacrifices  to  be  made  are  not  weighed  in  the  balance 
against  honor,  and  right,  and  liberty  and  equality." 

The  cheer  that  greeted  his  appeal  rose  and  fell  again 
and  again  the  third  time  with  redoubled  power  and  en 
thusiasm. 

The  President-elect  stepped  forward,  placed  his  hand 
on  the  open  Bible,  and  took  the  oath  of  office.  As  the 
last  word  fell  from  his  white  lips  cannon  thundered  a 
salute  from  the  hill  crest  and  the  great  silk  ensign  of  the 
South  was  slowly  lifted  by  the  hand  of  the  granddaugh 
ter  of  President  Tyler. 

As  the  breeze  unrolled  its  huge  red,  white  and  blue 
folds  against  the  shining  Southern  skies  the  crowd  burst 
into  hysterical  applause. 

A  Nation  had  been  born  whose  history  might  be  brief, 
but  the  people  who  created  it  and  the  leader  who  guided 
its  destiny  were  the  pledge  of  its  immortality. 

Socola  found  no  difficulty  in  possessing  himself  of 
every  secret  of  the  new  Government.  What  was  not 
proclaimed  from  the  street  corners  and  shouted  from  the 
housetops,  the  newspapers  printed  in  double  leads. 
The  new  Government  had  yet  to  organize  its  secret 
service. 

The  President  addressed  himself  with  energy  to  the 
task  which  confronted  him.  But  seven  States  had  yet 
enrolled  in  the  Confederacy.  Of  four  more  he  felt  sure. 
The  first  attempt  to  coerce  a  Southern  State  by  force 
of  arms  would  close  the  ranks  with  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  Tennessee  and  Arkansas  by  his  side.  Mary 
land,  Kentucky  and  Missouri  were  peopled  by  the  South 
and  the  institution  of  Slavery  bound  them  in  a  common 
cause. 

And  yet  the  defense  of  these  eleven  Southern  States 
with  their  five  million  white  population  and  four 

147 


THE  VICTIM 


million  blacks  was  a  task  to  stagger  the  imagination  of 
the  greatest  statesman  of  any  age.  This  vast  territory 
would  present  an  open  front  on  land  of  more  than  a 
thousand  miles  without  a  single  natural  barrier.  Its 
sea  coast  presented  three  thousand  miles  of  water  front 
—  open  to  the  attack  of  the  navy.  This  enormous 
coast  of  undefended  shore  was  pierced  by  river  after 
river  whose  broad,  deep  waters  would  carry  the  gun 
boats  of  an  enemy  into  the  heart  of  the  South. 

The  audacity  of  our  fathers  in  challenging  the  power 
of  Great  Britain  was  reasonable  in  comparison  with  the 
madness  of  the  South's  challenge  to  the  North.  Three 
thousand  miles  of  storm-tossed  ocean  defended  our 
Revolutionary  ancestors  from  the  base  of  the  enemy's 
supplies.  Three  thousand  miles  of  undefended  coast 
invited  the  attack  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  while  twenty  mil 
lion  Northerners  stood  with  their  feet  on  the  borders 
of  the  South  ready  to  advance  without  the  possibility 
of  hindrance  save  the  bare  breasts  of  the  men  who  might 
oppose  them. 

The  difference  between  the  sections  in  material  re 
sources  was  absurd.  The  North  was  rich  and  powerful. 
Her  engines  of  war  were  exhaustless  and  under  perfect 
control.  The  railroads  of  the  South  were  few  and 
poorly  equipped,  with  no  work  shops  from  which  to  re 
new  their  equipment  when  exhausted.  The  railroad 
system  of  the  entire  country  was  absolutely  dependent 
on  the  North  for  supplies.  The  Missouri  River  was 
connected  with  the  Northern  seaboard  by  the  finest  sys 
tem  of  railways  in  the  world,  with  a  total  mileage  of 
over  thirty  thousand.  Its  annual  tonnage  was  thirty- 
six  million  and  its  revenue  valued  at  four  thousand  mil 
lions  of  dollars.  The  annual  value  of  the  manufactures 
of  the  North  was  over  two  thousand  millions,  and  their 
machinery  was  complete  for  the  production  of  all  the 
material  of  war.  Her  ships  sailed  every  sea  and  she 

148 


THE  GAUGE  OF  BATTLE 

could  draw  upon  the  resources  of  the  known  world. 
Her  manufacturing  power  compared  to  the  South  was 
five  hundred  to  one. 

No  leader  in  the  history  of  his  race  was  ever  con 
fronted  by  such  insuperable  difficulties  as  faced  Jeffer 
son  Davis. 

He  had  been  called  to  direct  the  government  of  a 
proud,  sensitive,  jealous  people  thrown  without  prepa 
ration  into  a  position  which  threatened  their  existence, 
without  an  army,  without  arms,  or  the  means  to  manu 
facture  them,  without  even  powder,  or  the  means  to 
make  it,  or  the  material  out  of  which  it  must  be  made, 
without  a  navy  or  a  single  ship-yard  in  which  to  build 
one,  and  three  thousand  miles  of  coast  to  be  defended 
against  a  navy  which  had  whipped  the  greatest  mari 
time  nation  of  the  world.  His  genius  must  meet  every 
difficulty  and  supply  every  want  or  his  Confederacy 
would  fall  at  the  first  shock  of  war. 

The  one  tremendous  and  apparently  insuperable  dif 
ficulty  in  case  of  war  was  the  lack  of  a  navy.  A  navy 
could  not  be  built  in  a  day,  or  a  year  or  two  years,  were 
the  resources  of  the  Confederacy  boundless.  The  ships 
of  war  now  in  the  possession  of  the  United  States  were 
of  incalculable  power  in  such  a  crisis.  The  South  was 
cut  in  every  quarter  by  navigable  rivers.  Many  of 
their  waters  opened  on  Northern  interiors  accessible  to 
great  workshops  from  which  new  gunboats  could  be 
built  with  rapidity  and  launched  against  the  South. 
The  Mississippi  River,  navigable  for  a  thousand  miles, 
flowed  through  the  entire  breadth  of  the  Confed 
eracy  with  its  approaches  and  its  mouth  in  the  hands  of 
the  North.  Both  the  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland 
rivers  had  their  mouths  open  to  Northern  frontiers  and 
were  navigable  in  midwinter  for  transports  and  gun 
boats  which  could  pierce  the  heart  of  Tennessee  and 
Alabama. 

149 


THE  VICTIM 


It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  the  first 
purpose  of  the  President  of  the  Confederacy  was  to  se 
cure  peace  by  all  means  consistent  with  public  honor 
and  the  trust  imposed  on  him  by  the  people. 

His  first  official  act  was  the  dispatch  of  Confederate 
Commissioners  to  Washington  to  treat  for  peace. 

The  hope  that  they  would  be  received  with  courtesy 
and  consideration  was  a  reasonable  one.  The  greatest 
newspapers  of  the  North  were  outspoken  in  their  oppo 
sition  to  the  use  of  arms  against  any  State  of  the  Union. 

The  New  York  Tribune,  the  creator  of  Lincoln's 
party,  led  in  this  opposition  to  the  use  of  force.  The 
Albany  Argus  and  the  New  York  Herald  were  equally 
emphatic.  Governor  Seymour  of  New  York  boldly  de 
clared  in  a  great  mass  meeting  his  unalterable  opposi 
tion  to  coercion.  The  Detroit  Free  Press  suggested 
that  a  fire  would  be  poured  into  the  rear  of  any  troops 
raised  to  coerce  a  State.  It  was  already  known  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  would  not  advocate  coercion  in  his  inau 
gural. 

Stephen  A.  Douglas,  leader  of  the  millions  of  the 
Northern  Democracy,  offered  a  resolution  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  recommending  the  immediate  with 
drawal  of  the  garrisons  from  all  forts  within  the  limits 
of  the  States  which  had  seceded  except  those  at  Key 
West  and  Dry  Tortugas  needful  for  coaling  stations. 

"  I  proclaim  boldly,"  declared  the  Senator  from  Illi 
nois,  "  the  policy  of  those  with  whom  I  act.  We  are  for 
peace ! " 

Socola  reported  to  his  Chief  in  Washington  that 
nothing  was  more  certain  than  that  Jefferson  Davis 
hoped  for  reunion,  with  guarantees  against  aggression 
by  the  stronger  section  of  the  Union. 

Buchanan  had  agreed  to  receive  the  Southern  Com 
missioners,  and  sent  a  message  to  Congress  announcing 
their  presence  and  their  overtures. 

150 


THE  GAUGE  OF  BATTLE 

The  Commissioners  found  Washington  seething  with 
passion  and  trembling  with  excitement.  Buchanan 
had  collapsed  in  terror,  fearing  each  hour  to  hear 
that  his  home  had  been  sacked  and  burned  at  Wheat- 
land. 

But  the  Southern  leaders'  hope  of  peaceful  settle 
ment  was  based  on  a  surer  foundation  than  the  shattered 
nerves  of  the  feeble  old  man  in  the  White  House.  Jo 
seph  Holt,  the  Secretary  of  War,  was  a  Southern  Dem 
ocrat  born  in  Kentucky,  and  from  the  State  of  Missis 
sippi.  Holt  had  called  on  Davis  in  Washington  and 
assured  him  of  his  loyalty  to  the  South  and  her  people. 
The  President  of  the  Confederacy  knew  of  his  consum 
ing  personal  ambitions  and  had  assured  him  of  his  influ 
ence  to  secure  generous  treatment. 

But  the  Secretary  of  War  had  received  information 
from  the  South.  He  had  studied  the  situation  care 
fully.  He  believed  his  chances  of  advancement  in  the 
North  a  better  risk.  The  new  Government  had  ignored 
him  in  the  selection  of  a  Cabinet  —  and  with  quick  de 
cision  he  cast  his  fortunes  with  the  Union.  That  he 
had  deceived  Davis  and  Clay,  to  whom  he  had  given  his 
pledge  of  Southern  loyalty,  was  a  matter  of  no  im 
portance,  save  that  these  two  men,  who  alone  knew  his 
treachery,  were  marked  for  his  vengeance. 

Little  could  they  dream  in  this  hour  the  strange  end 
toward  which  Fate  was  even  now  hurrying  them  through 
the  machinations  of  this  sullen,  envious  Southern  rene 
gade. 

The  Secretary  of  War  placed  his  big  fist  on  the 
throat  of  the  trembling  President,  and  the  Peace  Com 
missioners  could  not  reach  the  White  House  or  its  coun 
cils. 

They  were  forced  to  await  the  inauguration  of  Abra 
ham  Lincoln. 

Jefferson  Davis  gave  himself  body  and  soul  to  the 
151 


THE  VICTIM 


task  of  preparing  his  over-sanguine,  credulous  people 
for  the  possible  tragedy  of  war. 

General  Beauregard  was  ordered  to  command  the 
forces  in  South  Carolina,  and  erect  batteries  for  the 
defense  of  Charleston  and  the  reduction  of  Fort  Sumter 
in  case  of  an  attempt  to  reenforce  it.  This  grim  fort, 
in  the  center  of  the  harbor  of  the  chief  Southern  Atlan 
tic  city,  commanded  the  gateway  of  the  Confederacy. 
If  it  should  be  reenforced,  the  Confederate  Government 
might  be  strangled  by  the  fall  of  Charleston,  and  the 
landing  of  an  army  even  before  a  blow  could  be  struck. 

Captain  Raphael  Semmes  was  sent  North  to  buy 
every  gun  in  the  market.  He  was  directed  to  secure 
machinery,  and  skilled  workingmen  to  man  it,  for  the 
establishment  of  arsenals  and  shops,  and  above  all  to 
buy  any  vessel  afloat  suitable  for  offensive  or  defensive 
work.  Not  a  single  ship  of  any  description  could  be 
had,  and  the  intervention  of  the  authorities  finally  pre 
vented  the  delivery  of  a  single  piece  of  machinery  or  the 
arms  he  had  purchased. 

Major  Huse  was  sent  to  Europe  on  the  third  day 
after  the  inauguration  at  Montgomery  on  a  similar  mis 
sion. 

General  G.  W.  Rains  was  appointed  to  establish 
a  manufactory  for  ammunition.  His  work  was  an 
achievement  of  genius.  He  created  artificial  niter  beds, 
from  which  sufficient  saltpeter  was  obtained,  and 
within  a  year  was  furnishing  the  finest  powder. 

General  Gorgas  was  appointed  Chief  of  Ordnance. 
There  was  but  one  iron  mill  in  the  South  which  could 
cast  a  cannon,  and  that  was  the  little  Tredegar  works 
at  Richmond,  Virginia.  The  State  of  Virginia  had 
voted  against  secession  and  it  would  require  the  first  act 
of  war  against  her  Southern  sisters  to  bring  her  to 
their  defense. 

The  widespread  belief  in  the  North  that  the  South 
152 


THE  GAUGE  OF  BATTLE 

had  secretly  prepared  for  war,  was  utterly  false,  and 
yet  the  impression  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the 
President  of  the  Confederacy.  It  gave  his  weak  gov 
ernment  a  fictitious  strength,  and  gave  him  a  brief  time 
in  which  to  prepare  his  raw  recruits  for  their  first  bat 
tle. 

Day  and  night  he  prayed  for  peace  at  any  sacrifice 
save  that  of  honor.  The  first  bloodshed  would  be  the 
match  in  the  powder  magazine.  He  pressed  his  Com 
missioners  in  Washington  for  haste. 

The  inaugural  address  of  Abraham  Lincoln  had  been 
so  carefully  worded,  its  utterances  so  conservative  and 
guarded,  his  expressions  of  good  will  toward  the  South 
so  surprisingly  emphatic,  that  Davis  could  not  believe 
an  act  of  aggression  which  would  bring  bloodshed  could 
be  committed  by  his  order. 

And  yet  day  dragged  after  day  with  no  opportunity 
afforded  his  Commissioners  to  treat  with  the  new  Admin 
istration  save  through  the  undignified  course  of  an  in 
termediary.  The  Southern  President  ordered  that  all 
questions  of  form  or  ceremony  be  waived. 

Seward,  the  Secretary  of  State,  gave  to  these  Commis 
sioners  repeated  assurances  of  the  peaceful  intention  of 
the  Government  at  Washington,  and  the  most  positive 
promise  that  Fort  Sumter  would  be  evacuated.  He 
also  declared  that  no  measure  would  be  instituted  either 
by  the  Executive  or  Congress  changing  the  situation 
except  on  due  notice  given  the  Commissioners. 

These  assurances  were  accepted  by  the  Confederate 
President  in  absolute  good  faith.  And  yet  early  in 
April  the  news  was  flashed  to  Montgomery  that  extraor 
dinary  preparations  were  being  made  in  the  Northern 
ports  for  a  military  and  naval  expedition  against  the 
South.  On  April  the  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh,  a  fleet  of 
transports  and  warships  with  shotted  guns,  munitions 
and  military  supplies  sailed  for  Charleston. 

153 


THE  VICTIM 


The  Commissioners  in  alarm  requested  an  answer  to 
their  proposals.  To  their  amazement  they  were  in 
formed  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  had  al 
ready  determined  to  hold  no  communication  with  them 
whatever  in  any  capacity  or  listen  to  any  proposals 
they  had  to  make. 

On  Beauregard's  report  to  them  that  Anderson  was 
endeavoring  to  strengthen  his  position  instead  of  evac 
uating  the  Fort  the  Commissioners  again  communicated 
with  Mr.  Seward. 

The  wily  Secretary  of  State  assured  them  that  the 
Government  had  not  receded  from  his  promise.  On 
April  seventh  Mr.  Seward  sent  them  this  message : 

"  Faith  as  to  Sumter  fully  kept :  wait  and  see." 

His  war  fleet  was  already  on  the  high  seas,  their 
black  prows  pointed  southward,  their  one  hundred  and 
twenty  guns  shotted,  their  battle  flags  streaming  in 
the  sky! 

Lincoln's  sense  of  personal  honor  was  too  keen  to  per 
mit  this  crooked  piece  of  diplomacy  to  stain  the  opening 
of  his  administration.  He  dispatched  a  special  messen 
ger  to  the  Governor  of  South  Carolina  and  gave  notice 
of  his  purpose  to  use  force  if  opposed  in  his  intention  of 
supplying  Fort  Sumter. 

On  the  eve  of  the  day  the  fleet  was  scheduled  to 
arrive  this  notice  was  delivered.  But  a  storm  at  sea 
had  delayed  the  expedition  and  Beauregard  asked  the 
President  of  the  Confederacy  for  instructions. 

His  Cabinet  was  called,  and  its  opinion  was  unanimous 
that  Fort  Sumter  must  be  reduced  or  the  Confederacy 
dissolved.  There  was  no  choice. 

Their  President  rose,  his  drawn  face  deadly  pale: 

"  I  agree  with  you,  gentlemen.  The  order  of  the 
sailing  of  the  fleet  was  a  declaration  of  war.  The  re 
sponsibility  is  on  their  shoulders,  not  ours.  To  juggle 
for  position  as  to  who  shall  fire  the  first  gun  in  such  an 

154 


THE  GAUGE  OF  BATTLE 

hour  is  unworthy  of  a  great  people  and  their  cause. 
A  deadly  weapon  has  been  aimed  at  our  heart.  Only  a 
fool  would  wait  until  the  shot  has  been  fired.  The  as 
sault  has  already  been  made.  It  is  of  no  importance 
who  shall  strike  the  first  blow  or  fire  the  first  gun." 

With  quick  decision  he  seized  his  pen  and  wrote  the 
order  for  the  reduction  of  Fort  Sumter. 


CHAPTER  XI 

JENNIE'S  VISION 

Wild  rumors  of  bombardment  held  Charleston  in  a 
spell. 

Jennie  Barton  sat  alone  on  the  roof  of  her  aunt's 
house  at  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  April  13.  The 
others  had  gone  to  bed,  certain  that  the  rumors  were 
false.  She  had  somehow  felt  the  certainty  of  the 
crash. 

Seated  beside  the  brick  coping  of  the  roof  she  leaned 
the  strong  little  chin  in  her  hands,  waited  and  watched. 
Lights  were  flickering  around  the  shore  batteries  like 
fireflies  winking  in  the  shadows  of  deep  woods.  Her 
three  brothers  were  there.  She  might  look  on  their  dead 
faces  to-morrow.  Her  father  had  rushed  to  Charles 
ton  from  Washington  at  the  first  news  of  the  sailing  of 
the  fleet.  He  had  begged  and  pleaded  with  General 
Beauregard  to  reduce  the  Fort  immediately,  with  or 
without  orders  from  Davis. 

"  For  God's  sake,  use  your  discretion  as  Command 
ing  General  and  open  fire.  If  that  fleet  reaches  Sum- 
ter  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy  is  lost.  Old  Davis 
is  too  slow.  He's  still  crying  peace,  peace,  when  there 
is  no  peace.  The  war  has  begun !  " 

The  General  calmly  shook  his  head  and  asked  for  in 
structions. 

Besides  losing  her  brothers,  she  might  be  an  orphan 
to-morrow.  Her  father  was  quite  capable  of  an  attack 
on  Sumter  without  orders.  And  if  the  bombardment 
should  begin  he  would  probably  be  roaming  over  the  har- 

156 


JENNIE'S  VISION 


bor  from  fort  to  fort,  superintending  the  job  under 
the  guns  of  both  sides. 

"  If  Anderson  does  not  accept  the  terms  of  surrender 
offered  he  will  be  fired  on  at  four  o'clock."  Jennie  re 
peated  the  headlines  of  the  extra  with  a  shiver. 

The  chimes  of  St.  Michael's  struck  three.  The  min 
utes  slowly  dragged.  The  half  hour  was  sung  through 
the  soft  balmy  air  of  the  Southern  spring. 

Dick  Welford,  too,  was  behind  one  of  those  black  guns 
on  the  shore.  How  handsome  he  had  looked  in  his 
bright  new  uniform !  He  was  a  soldier  from  the  crown 
of  his  blond  head  to  the  soles  of  his  heavy  feet.  He  had 
laughed  at  danger.  She  had  liked  him  for  that.  He 
hadn't  posed.  He  hadn't  asked  for  sympathy  or  admi 
ration.  He  just  marched  to  his  duty  with  the  quick, 
firm  step  of  the  man  who  means  business. 

She  was  sorry  now  she  hadn't  told  him  how  much  she 
liked  and  admired  him.  She  might  not  have  another 
chance  — 

"  Nonsense,  of  course  I  will ! "  she  murmured  with  a 
toss  of  her  brown  head. 

A  dog  barked  across  the  street,  and  a  wagon  rattled 
hurriedly  over  the  cobblestones  below.  A  rooster 
crowed  for  day. 

She  looked  across  the  way,  and  a  dark  group  of  whis 
pering  women  were  huddled  in  a  corner  on  the  roof, 
their  gaze  fixed  on  Sumter. 

Another  wagon  rumbled  heavily  over  the  cobbles,  and 
another,  and  another.  A  blue  light  flamed  from  Fort 
Sumter,  blinking  at  intervals.  Anderson  was  signaling 
someone.  To  the  fleet  that  lay  on  the  eastern  horizon 
beyond  the  bar,  perhaps. 

The  chimes  of  St.  Michael  struck  the  fatal  hour  of 
four.  Their  sweet  notes  rang  clear  and  soft  and  mu 
sical  over  the  dim  housetops  just  as  they  had  sung  to 
the  sleeping  world  through  years  of  joyous  peace. 

157 


THE  VICTIM 


Jennie  sprang  to  her  feet  and  strained  her  eyes  to 
ward  the  black  lump  that  was  Sumter  out  in  the  harbor. 
She  waited  with  quick  beating  heart  for  the  first  flash 
of  red  from  the  shore  batteries.  It  did  not  come.  Five 
minutes  passed  that  seemed  an  hour,  and  still  no  sound 
of  war. 

Only  those  wagons  were  rumbling  now  at  closer  inter 
vals  —  one  after  the  other  in  quick  succession.  They 
were  ammunition  trains!  The  crack  of  the  drivers' 
whips  could  be  heard  distinctly,  and  the  cries  of  the 
men  urging  their  horses  on.  The  noise  became  at  last 
a  dull,  continuous  roar. 

The  chimes  from  the  old  church  tower  again  sang  the 
half  hour  and  then  it  came  —  a  sudden  sword  leap  of 
red  -flame  on  the  horizon!  A  shell  rose  in  the  sky,  glow 
ing  in  pale  phosphorescent  trail,  and  burst  in  a  flash  of 
blinding  flame  over  the  dark  lump  in  the  harbor.  The 
flash  had  illumined  the  waters  and  revealed  the  clear  out 
lines  of  the  casemates  with  their  black  mouths  of  steel 
gaping  through  the  portholes.  A  roar  of  deep,  dull 
thunder  shook  the  world. 

Jennie  fell  on  her  knees  with  clasped  hands  and  up 
turned  face.  Her  lips  were  not  moving,  and  no  sound 
came  from  the  little  dry  throat,  but  from  the  depths  of 
her  heart  rose  the  old,  old  cry  of  love. 

"  Lord  have  mercy  on  my  darling  brothers,  and  keep 
them  safe  —  let  no  harm  come  to  them  —  and  Dick, 
too  —  brave  and  strong !  " 

The  house  below  was  stirring  with  the  rush  of  hurry 
ing  feet  in  the  corridors  and  the  clatter  on  the  nar 
row  stairs  that  led  to  the  roof.  They  crowded  to 
the  edge  and  gazed  seaward.  The  hum  of  voices  came 
now  from  every  house.  Women  were  crying.  Some 
were  praying.  Men  were  talking  in  low,  excited 
tones. 

Jennie  paid  no  attention  to  the  people  about  her. 

158 


JENNIE'S  VISION 


Her  eyes  were  fixed  on  those  tongues  of  flame  that  cir 
cled  Sumter. 

Anderson  was  firing  now,  his  big  guns  flashing  their 
defiant  answer  to  Beauregard's  batteries.  Jennie 
watched  the  lurid  track  of  his  shells  with  sickening 
dread. 

A  man  standing  beside  her  in  the  gray  dawn  spoke. 

"  A  waste  of  ammunition !  " 

The  cannon  boomed  now  with  the  regular  throb  of  a 
great  human  pulse.  The  sobs  and  excited  cries  and- 
prayers  of  women  had  become  a  part  of  the  weird 
scene. 

A  young  mother  stood  beside  Jennie  with  a  baby  boy 
in  her  arms.  He  was  delighted  with  the  splendid  display 
and  the  roar  of  the  guns. 

He  pointed  his  fingers  to  the  circling  shells  and  cried : 

"'Ook,  mamma,  'ook!" 

The  mother  made  no  answer.  Only  with  her  hungry 
eyes  did  she  follow  their  track  to  the  shore.  Her  mate 
was  there. 

The  baby  clapped  his  hands  and  caught  the  rhythm 
of  the  throb  and  roar  of  the  cannon  in  his  little  voice : 

"  Boom !  —  Boom !  " 

The  sun  rose  from  the  sea,  a  ball  of  dull  red  fire  glow 
ing  ominously  through  the  haze  of  smoke  that  hung  in 
the  sky. 

Hour  after  hour  the  guns  pealed,  the  windows  rattled 
and  the  earth  trembled. 

Couriers  were  dashing  into  the  city  with  reports  from 
the  batteries.  Soldiers  were  marching  through  the 
streets.  It  was  reported  that  the  men  from  the  fleet 
would  attempt  a  landing. 

The  women  rushed  to  the  little  iron  balcony  and 
watched  the  troops  marching  to  repel  them. 

In  the  first  line  Jennie  saw  the  tall  figure  of  Dick  Wei- 
ford.  He  glanced  upward,  lifted  his  cap  and  held  it 

159 


THE  VICTIM 


steadily  in  his  hand  for  four  blocks  until  they  turned 
and  swept  out  of  sight. 

Jennie  was  leaning  on  the  rail  with  tear-dimmed  eyes. 

"  I  wonder  why  that  soldier  took  his  hat  off?  "  her 
aunt  asked. 

"  Yes  —  I  wonder !  "  was  the  soft  answer. 

By  three  o'clock  it  was  known  that  not  a  man  had 
been  killed  at  either  of  the  shore  batteries  and  women 
began  to  smile  and  breathe  once  more. 

The  newsboys  were  screaming  an  extra. 

Jennie  hurried  into  the  street  and  bought  one. 

In  big  black  headlines  she  read : 

RICHMOND     AND    WASHINGTON    ABLAZE     WITH 
EXCITEMENT! 

THE  NORTH  WILD  WITH  RAGE 

VIRGINIA    AND    NORTH    CAROLINA    ARMING    TO 
COME  TO  OUR  RESCUE! 

She  walked  rapidly  to  the  water's  edge  to  get  the 
latest  news  from  the  front.  A  tiny  rowboat  was  deliber 
ately  pulling  through  the  harbor  squarely  under  the 
guns  of  Sumter.  She  watched  it  with  amazement,  look 
ing  each  moment  to  see  it  disappear  beneath  the  waves. 
It  was  probably  her  foolish  father. 

With  steady,  even  stroke  the  boatman  pulled  for  the 
shore  as  unconcerned  as  if  he  were  listening  to  the  rat 
tle  of  firecrackers  on  the  fourth  of  July. 

To  her  surprise  it  proved  to  be  a  negro.  He  tied  his 
boat  and  deliberately  unloaded  his  supply  of  vegetables. 
His  stolid,  sphinx-like  face  showed  neither  fear  nor  in 
terest. 

"Weren't  you  afraid  of  Anderson's  cannon,  uncle?  " 
Jennie  asked. 

"  Nobum  —  nobum  — " 

"  You  might  have  been  blown  to  pieces  — " 
160 


JENNIE'S  VISION 


"  Nobum  —  Marse  Anderson  daresn't  hit  me !  " 

"Why  not?" 

66  He  knows  my  marster  don't  'low  nuttin  like  dat  — 
I'se  too  val'eble  er  nigger.  Nobum,  dey  ain't  none  ob 
'em  gwine  ter  pester  me,  an'  I  ain't  gwine  ter  meddle 
wid  dem  —  dey  kin  des  fight  hit  out  twixt  'em  — " 

Through  the  long  night  the  steady  boom  of  cannon, 
and  the  scream  of  shells  from  the  shore. 

At  one  o'clock  next  day  the  flagstaff  was  cut  down 
by  a  solid  shot,  and  Sumter  was  silent. 

At  three  o'clock  a  mob  surged  up  the  street  following 
Senator  Barton,  who  had  just  come  from  the  harbor. 
He  was  on  his  way  to  Beauregard's  headquarters. 

Anderson  had  surrendered. 

A  strange  quiet  held  the  city.  There  was  no  jubila 
tion,  no  bonfires,  no  illuminations  to  celebrate  the  vic 
tory.  A  sigh  of  relief  for  deliverance  from  a  great  dan 
ger  that  had  threatened  their  life  —  that  was  all. 

The  Southern  flag  was  flying  now  from  the  battered 
walls,  and  the  people  were  content.  They  were  glad 
that  Beauregard  had  given  old  Bob  Anderson  the  priv 
ilege  of  saluting  his  flag  and  marching  out  with  the  hon 
ors  of  war.  All  they  asked  was  to  be  let  alone. 

And  they  were  doubly  grateful  for  the  strange  Prov 
idence  that  had  saved  every  soldier's  life  while  the  walls 
of  the  Fort  had  been  hammered  into  a  shapeless  mass. 
No  blood  had  yet  been  spilled  on  either  side.  The  Pres 
ident  of  the  Confederacy  caught  the  wonderful  news 
from  the  wires  with  a  cry  of  joy. 

"  Peace  may  yet  be  possible !  "  he  exclaimed  excitedly. 
"  No  blood  has  been  spilled  in  actual  conflict  — " 

His  joy  was  short  lived.  A  rude  awakening  was  in 
store. 

Dick  Welford  strolled  along  the  brilliantly  lighted 
"  Battery  "  that  night  with  Jennie's  little  hand  resting 
on  his  arm. 

12  161 


THE  VICTIM 


"  I  tell  you,  Jennie,  I  was  scared ! "  he  was  saying 
with  boyish  earnestness.  "  You  see  a  fellow  never 
knows  how  he's  going  to  come  out  of  a  close  place  like 
that  till  he  tries  it.  I  had  a  fine  uniform  and  I'd  learned 
the  drill  and  all  that  —  but  I  had  not  smelled  brimstone 
at  short  range.  I  didn't  know  how  I'd  do  under  fire. 
Now  I  know  I'm  a  worthy  descendant  of  my  old  Scotch- 
Irish  ancestor  who  held  a  British  officer  before  him  for 
a  shield  and  gracefully  backed  out  of  danger." 

They  stopped  and  gazed  over  the  lazy,  shimmering 
waters  of  the  harbor. 

Jennie  looked  up  into  his  manly  face  with  a  glow 
of  pride. 

"  You're  splendid,  Dick, —  I'm  proud  of  you !  " 

"  Are  you?  "  he  asked  eagerly. 

"  Yes.     You're  just  like  my  brothers." 

"  Look  here  now,  Jennie,"  he  protested,  "  don't  you 
go  telling  me  that  you'll  be  a  sister  to  me.  I've  got  a 
lot  of  sisters  at  home  and  I  don't  need  any  more — " 

"  I  didn't  mean  it  that  way,  Dick,"  she  responded  ten 
derly.  "  My  brothers  are  just  the  finest,  bravest  men 
that  God  ever  made  in  this  world  —  that's  what  I 
meant." 

"  Don't  you  like  me  a  little?  " 

"  I  almost  love  you  to-night  —  maybe  it's  our  vic 
tory  —  maybe  it's  the  fear  that  made  me  pray  for  you 
and  the  boys  on  that  house  top  the  other  night  —  I 
don't  know  — " 

"  Did  you  pray  for  me?  "  he  asked  softly. 

«  Yes  — " 

"  I  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  that,  but  I'm  not  —  I 
want  you !  Won't  you  be  mine  ?  " 

She  smiled  into  his  eager  face  in  a  gentle,  whimsical 
way.  A  half  promise  to  him  was  just  trembling  on  her 
lips  when  Socola's  slender,  erect  figure  suddenly  crossed 
the  street.  He  lifted  his  hat  with  a  genial  bow. 

162 


JENNIE'S  VISION 


Dick  ground  his  teeth  in  a  smothered  oath,  and  Jennie 
spoke  abruptly : 

"  Come  —  it's  late  —  we  must  go  in." 

Through  the  long  night  the  girl  lay  awake  with  the 
calm,  persistent,  smiling  face  of  the  foreigner  looking 
into  the  depths  of  her  brown  eyes. 


CHAPTER  XII 
A  LITTLE  CLOUD 

The  first  aggressive  act  of  the  President  of  the  Con 
federacy  revealed  his  alert  and  far-seeing  mind.  His 
keen  eye  was  bent  upon  the  sea,  with  an  instinctive 
appreciation  of  the  tremendous  import  of  the  long 
Southern  coast  line. 

Without  a  ship  afloat  or  a  single  navy  yard,  by  a 
stroke  of  his  pen  he  created  a  fleet  destined  to  sweep  the 
commerce  of  the  North  from  every  sea.  His  task  was 
to  create  something  out  of  nothing  and  how  well  he  did 
it  events  swiftly  bore  their  testimony. 

The  United  States  Government  was  the  only  nation 
which  had  refused  to  join  the  agreement  to  abandon  the 
use  of  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  for  destroying 
the  unarmed  vessels  of  commerce  in  time  of  war.  This 
unfortunate  piece  of  diplomacy  gave  Jefferson  Davis 
the  opportunity  to  strike  his  first  blow  at  the  power 
and  prestige  of  the  North. 

He  immediately  issued  a  proclamation  offering  to  is 
sue  such  letters  to  any  ship  that  would  arm  herself  and 
enlist  under  the  ensign  of  the  Confederate  navy.  The 
response  was  quick  and  the  ultimate  result  the  lowering 
of  the  flag  of  the  Union  from  practically  every  ship  of 
commerce  that  sailed  the  ocean. 

Gideon  Welles  conferred  with  his  Chief  in  Washington 
and  Abraham  Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation  which  at 
the  time  created  scarcely  a  ripple  of  excitement.  And 
yet  that  order  was  the  most  important  document  which 
came  from  the  White  House  during  the  entire  four  years 
of  the  war. 

164 


A  LITTLE  CLOUD 


When  the  test  came  sixteen  captains,  thirty-four  com 
manders  and  one  hundred  and  eleven  midshipmen  re 
signed  and  cast  their  fortunes  with  the  South.  Not  one  of 
them  attempted  to  use  his  position  to  surrender  a  ship. 

Small  as  it  was,  the  entire  navy  of  the  United  States 
was  practically  intact.  It  comprised  ninety  ships  of 
war  —  forty-two  of  them  ready  for  active  service.  The 
majority  of  the  vessels  ready  for  war  were  steam-pro 
pelled  craft  of  the  latest  improved  type. 

The  United  States  had  been  one  of  the  first  world 
powers  to  realize  the  value  of  steam  and  rebuild  its  navy 
accordingly.  In  twenty  years,  practically  a  new  navy 
had  been  constructed,  ranking  in  effective  power  third 
only  to  England  and  France.  Within  the  past  five 
years,  the  Government  had  built  the  steam  frigates, 
Merrimac,  Niagara,  Colorado,  Wabasli,  Minnesota,  and 
Roanoke.  In  addition  to  these  twelve  powerful  steam 
sloops  of  war  had  been  commissioned  —  the  Hartford* 
Brooklyn,  Lancaster,  Richmond,  Narragansett,  Dakota, 
Iroquois,  Wyoming,  and  Seminole.  They  were  of  the 
highest  type  of  construction  and  compared  favorably 
with  the  best  ships  of  the  world. 

These  ships  at  the  opening  of  the  war  were  widely 
scattered,  but  their  homeward  bound  streamers  were  all 
fluttering  in  the  sky. 

President  Lincoln  in  his  proclamation  ordered  the 
most  remarkable  blockade  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
This  document  declared  three  thousand  miles  of  South 
ern  coast,  from  the  Virginia  Capes  to  the  Rio  Grande, 
closed  to  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

The  little  fleet  boldly  sailed  on  its  tremendous  mission. 
The  smoke  of  its  funnels  made  but  a  tiny  smudge  on  the 
wide,  shining  Southern  skies.  But  with  swift  and  terri 
ble  swirl  this  cloud,  no  bigger  than  a  man's  hand,  grew 
into  a  storm  whose  black  shadow  shrouded  the  South 
land  in  gloom. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  RANKS 

A  wave  of  fierce  anger  swept  the  North.  The  fall  of 
Sumter  was  the  one  topic  on  every  lip.  Men  stopped 
their  trade,  their  work,  their  play  and  looked  about  them 
for  the  nearest  rallying  ground  of  soldiers. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  was  quick  to  seize 
the  favorable  moment  to  call  for  75,000  volunteers. 
That  these  troops  were  to  fight  the  Confederacy  was  not 
questioned  for  a  moment. 

The  effect  of  this  proclamation  on  the  South  was  a  po 
litical  earthquake.  In  a  single  day  all  differences  of 
opinion  were  sunk  in  the  common  cause.  A  feeling  of 
profound  wonder  swept  every  thoughtful  man  within 
the  Southern  States.  To  this  moment,  even  a  majority 
of  those  who  favored  the  policy  of  secession  had  done 
so  under  the  belief  that  it  was  the  surest  way  of  securing 
redress  of  grievances  and  of  bringing  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment  back  to  its  original  Constitutional  principles. 
Many  of  them  believed,  and  all  of  their  leaders  in  author 
ity  hoped,  that  a  re-formation  of  the  Union  would  soon 
take  place  in  peaceful  ways  on  the  basis  of  the  new  Con 
stitution  proclaimed  at  Montgomery.  Many  Northern 
newspapers,  led  by  the  New  York  Herald,  had  advocated 
this  course.  The  hope  of  the  majority  of  the  Southern 
people  was  steadfast  that  the  Union  would  thus  be  con 
tinued  and  strengthened,  and  made  more  perfect,  as  it 
had  been  in  1789  after  the  withdrawal  of  nine  States 
from  the  Old  Union  by  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu 
tion  of  1787. 

166 


THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  RANKS 

Abraham  Lincoln's  proclamation  shattered  all  hope 
of  such  peaceful  adjustment. 

Thousands  of  the  best  men  in  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  had  voted  against  secession.  Not  one  of  them, 
in  the  face  of  this  proclamation,  would  dispute  longer 
with  their  brethren.  Whatever  they  might  think  about 
the  expediency  of  withdrawing  from  the  Union,  they 
were  absolutely  clear  on  two  points.  The  President  of 
the  United  States  had  no  power  under  the  charter  of  our 
Government  to  declare  war.  Congress  only  could  do 
that.  If  the  Cotton  States  were  out  of  the  Union,  his 
act  was  illegal  because  the  usurpation  of  supreme  power. 
If  they  were  yet  in  the  Union,  the  raising  of  an  army 
to  invade  their  homes  was  a  plain  violation  of  the  Con 
stitution. 

The  heart  of  the  South  beat  as  one  man.  The  cause 
of  the  war  had  been  suddenly  shifted  to  a  broader  and 
deeper  foundation  about  which  no  possible  difference 
could  ever  again  arise  in  the  Southern  States. 

The  demand  for  soldiers  to  invade  the  South  was  a 
bugle  call  to  Southern  manhood  to  fight  for  their  liber 
ties  and  defend  their  homes.  It  gave  even  to  the 
staunchest  Union  men  of  the  Old  South  the  overt  act  of 
an  open  breach  of  the  Constitution.  From  the  moment 
Abraham  Lincoln  proclaimed  a  war  without  the  act  of 
Congress,  from  that  moment  he  became  a  dictator  and  a 
despot  who  deliberately  sought  to  destroy  their  liber 
ties. 

The  cause  of  the  South  not  only  meant  the  defense  "of 
their  homes  from  foreign  invasion ;  it  became  a  holy  cru 
sade  for  the  reestablishment  of  Constitutional  freedom. 

Virginia  immediately  seceded  from  the  Union  by  the 
vote  of  the  same  men  who  had  refused  to  secede  but  a  few 
weeks  before.  The  old  flag  fell  from  its  staff  on  her 
Capitol  and  the  new  symbol  of  Southern  unity  was  un 
furled  in  its  place.  As  if  by  magic  the  new  flag  fluttered 

167 


THE  VICTIM 


from  every  hill,  housetop  and  window,  while  crowds 
surged  through  the  streets  shouting  and  waving  it  aloft. 
Cannon  boomed  its  advent  and  cheering  thousands  sa 
luted  it. 

A  great  torchlight  parade  illumined  the  streets  on 
April  19.  In  this  procession  walked  the  men  who  a  week 
ago  had  marched  through  Franklin  Street  waving  the  old 
flag  of  the  Union  and  shouting  themselves  hoarse  in  their 
determination  to  uphold  it.  They  had  signed  the  ordi 
nance  of  secession  with  streaming  eyes,  but  they  signed 
it  with  firm  hands,  and  sent  their  sons  to  the  muster  fields 
next  day. 

Augusta  County,  a  Whig  and  Union  center,  and 
Rockingham,  an  equally  strong  Democratic  Union 
county,  each  contributed  fifteen  hundred  soldiers  to  the 
new  cause.  Women  not  only  began  to  prepare  the 
equipment  for  their  men,  but  many  of  them  began  to  arm 
and  practice  themselves.  Boys  from  ten  to  fourteen 
were  daily  drilling.  In  Petersburg  three  hundred  free 
negroes  offered  their  services  to  fight  or  to  ditch  and 
dig. 

The  bitterness  of  the  answers  of  the  Southern  Govern 
ors  from  the  Border  States  yet  in  the  Union  amazed  the 
President  at  Washington. 

His  demand  for  troops  was  refused  in  tones  of  scorn 
and  defiance. 

Governor  Magoffin  of  Kentucky  replied: 

"  The  State  will  furnish  no  troops  for  the  wicked  pur 
pose  of  subduing  her  sister  Southern  States." 

Governor  Harris  telegraphed  from  Nashville : 

"  The  State  of  Tennessee  will  not  furnish  a  single  man 
for  coercion,  but  fifty  thousand  if  necessary  for  the  de 
fense  of  her  rights." 

The  message  of  Governor  Ellis  of  North  Carolina 
was  equally  emphatic : 

"  I  will  be  no  party  to  this  wicked  violation  of  the 
168 


THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  RANKS 

laws  of  our  country,  and  to  this  war  upon  the  liberties 
of  a  free  people." 

Governor  Rector  of  Arkansas  replied: 

"  Your  demand  adds  insult  to  injury." 

Governor  Jackson  of  Missouri  was  indignant  beyond 
all  others : 

"  Your  requisition  in  my  judgment  is  illegal,  uncon 
stitutional,  and  revolutionary  —  its  objects  inhuman 
and  diabolical." 

Tennessee  followed  Virginia  by  seceding  on  May  6. 
Arkansas  on  May  18,  and  North  Carolina  by  unanimous 
vote  on  May  21. 

North  Carolina  had  been  slow  to  announce  her  final 
separation  from  the  old  Union.  But  she  had  been 
prompt  in  proclaiming  her  own  sovereign  rights  within 
her  territory  when  the  National  Government  had  dared 
to  call  them  in  question.  On  the  day  the  President  had 
issued  his  proclamation  she  seized  Fort  Macon  at  Beau 
fort.  Fort  Caswell  was  taken  and  garrisoned  by  her 
volunteers,  and  on  April  19,  the  arsenal  at  Fayetteville 
was  captured  without  bloodshed.  The  value  of  this 
achievement  to  the  South  was  incalculable.  The  Con 
federacy  thus  secured  sixty-five  thousand  stand  of  arms, 
of  which  twenty-eight  thousand  were  of  the  most  modern 
pattern. 

Virginia  had  seceded  on  April  17  and  immediately 
moved  to  secure  under  the  resumption  of  her  complete 
sovereignty  all  the  arms,  munitions  of  war,  ship  stores 
and  military  posts  within  her  borders.  Two  posts  of 
tremendous  importance  she  attempted  to  seize  at  once  — 
the  great  navy  yard  at  Norfolk  and  the  arsenal  and 
shops  at  Harper's  Ferry.  The  navy  yard  contained  a 
magnificent  dry  dock  worth  millions,  huge  ship  houses, 
supplies,  ammunition,  small  arms  and  cannon,  and  had 
lying  in  its  basin  several  vessels  of  war,  complete  and  in 
complete. 

169 


THE  VICTIM 


Harper's  Ferry  contained  ten  thousand  muskets,  five 
thousand  rifles  and  a  complete  set  of  machinery  for  the 
manufacture  of  arms  capable  of  turning  out  two  thou 
sand  muskets  a  month. 

A  force  of  Virginia  volunteers  moved  on  Harper's 
Ferry.  The  small  Federal  garrison  asked  for  a  parley, 
which  was  granted.  In  a  short  time  flames  were  pour 
ing  from  the  armory  and  arsenal.  The  garrison  had  set 
fire  to  the  buildings  and  escaped  across  the  railroad 
bridge  into  Maryland. 

The  Virginia  troops  rushed  into  the  burning  build 
ings,  and  saved  five  thousand  muskets  and  three  thou 
sand  unfinished  rifles.  The  garrison  had  laid  trains  of 
powder  to  blow  up  the  workshops,  but  the  Virginians 
extinguished  the  flames  and  saved  to  the  South  the  inval 
uable  machinery  for  making  and  repairing  muskets  and 
rifles.  It  was  shipped  to  Fayetteville  and  Richmond 
and  installed  for  safety. 

The  destruction  of  the  navy  yard  at  Norfolk  was 
more  complete  and  irreparable.  The  dry  dock  was  little 
damaged,  but  the  destruction  of  stores  and  property 
was  enormous.  All  ships  in  the  harbor  were  set  on  fire 
and  scuttled. 

Events  moved  now  with  swift  and  terrible  certainty. 

Massachusetts  attempted,  on  April  19,  to  send  a  regi 
ment  through  the  streets  of  Baltimore  to  invade  the 
South,  and  the  indignant  wrath  of  her  citizens  could  not 
be  controlled  by  the  mayor  or  police.  The  street  cars 
on  which  they  were  riding  across  town  to  the  Camden 
station  were  thrown  from  the  tracks.  The  crowds 
jammed  the  streets  and  shouted  their  curses  in  the  face 
of  the  advancing  volunteers.  Stones  were  hurled  into 
their  ranks  and  two  soldiers  dropped.  A  volley  was 
poured  into  the  crowd  and  several  fell  dead  and 
wounded. 

The  crowd  went  mad.  Revolvers  were  drawn  and 
170 


THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  RANKS 

fired  point  blank  into  the  ranks  of  the  soldiers  and  those 
who  were  unarmed  rushed  to  arm  themselves.  From 
Frederic  to  Smith  Streets  the  firing  on  both  sides  con 
tinued  with  the  regular  crash  of  battle.  Citizens  were 
falling,  but  even  the  unarmed  men  continued  to  press 
forward  and  hurl  stones  into  the  ranks  of  the  New  Eng- 
landers. 

The  troops  began  to  yield  before  the  determined  on 
slaughts  of  the  infuriated  crowds,  bewildered  and 
apparently  without  real  commanders.  They  pressed 
through  the  streets,  staggering,  confused,  breaking  into 
a  run  and  turning  to  fire  on  their  assailants  as  they  re 
treated. 

Harassed,  bleeding  and  exhausted,  the  regiment  at 
last  reached  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  station.  The  fight 
continued  without  pause.  Volleys  of  stones  were  hurled 
into  the  cars,  shattering  windows  and  paneling.  The 
troops  were  ordered  to  lie  down  on  the  floors  and  keep 
their  heads  below  the  line  of  the  windows.  Maddened 
men  pressed  to  the  car  windows,  cursing  and  yelling 
their  defiance.  For  half  a  mile  along  the  tracks  the 
crowd  struggled  and  shouted,  piling  the  rails  with  new 
obstructions  as  fast  as  policemen  could  remove  them. 
Through  a  steady  roar  of  hoots,  yells  and  curses  the 
train  at  last  pulled  slowly  out,  the  troops  pouring  a  vol 
ley  into  the  crowd. 

In  this  first  irregular  battle  of  the  sections  the  Mas 
sachusetts  regiment  lost  four  killed  and  thirty-six 
wounded.  The  Baltimoreans  lost  twelve  killed  and 
an  unknown  number  wounded. 

A  wave  of  tremendous  excitement  swept  the  State  of 
Maryland.  Bridges  on  all  railroads  leading  north 
were  immediately  burned  and  the  City  of  Washington 
cut  off  from  communication  with  the  outside  world. 
Troops  were  compelled  to  avoid  Baltimore  and  find 
transportation  by  water  to  Annapolis.  Mass  meetings 

171 


THE  VICTIM 


were  held  and  speeches  of  bitter  defiance  hurled  against 
the  Federal  Government.  The  Baltimore  Council  ap 
propriated  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  put  the  city 
in  a  state  of  defense,  though  the  State  had  proclaimed 
its  neutrality. 

The  shrewd,  good-natured,  even-tempered  President 
at  Washington  used  all  his  powers  of  personal  diplomacy 
to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters  of  Maryland.  In  the 
meantime  with  swift,  sure,  and  merciless  tread  he  moved 
on  the  turbulent  State  with  the  power  of  Federal  arms. 
It  was  impossible  to  hold  the  Capital  of  the  Nation  with 
a  hostile  State  separating  it  from  the  loyal  North. 

The  steps  he  took  were  all  clearly  unconstitutional, 
but  they  were  necessary  to  save  the  Capital.  They  were 
the  acts  of  a  dictator,  for  Congress  was  not  in  session, 
but  he  dared  to  act.  Troops  were  suddenly  thrown  into 
the  city  of  Baltimore  and  its  streets  and  heights  planted 
with  cannon.  The  chief  of  police  was  arrested  and  im 
prisoned,  the  police  board  was  suspended  and  the  city 
brought  under  the  rule  of  drumhead  court-mar 
tial.  The  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  suspended  by  Fed 
eral  authorities  in  a  free  and  sovereign  State  whose 
Legislature  had  proclaimed  its  neutrality  in  the  sectional 
conflict.  Blank  warrants  were  issued  by  military  officers 
and  the  house  of  every  suspect  entered  by  force  and 
searched.  The  mayor  and  his  Council  were  arrested 
without  warrant,  held  without  trial,  and  imprisoned  in 
a  military  fortress,  and  when  the  Legislature  dared  to 
protest,  its  members  were  arrested  and  its  session  closed 
by  bayonets. 

So  thoroughly  was  this  work  done  that  within  thirty 
days  from  the  attack  on  the  troops  of  New  England, 
Maryland's  Governor  by  proclamation  called  for  four 
regiments  of  volunteers  to  assist  the  Washington  Gov 
ernment  in  the  proposed  invasion  of  the  South. 

In  like  manner,  with  hand  of  steel  within  a  velvet 
172 


THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  BANKS 

glove,  Mr.  Lincoln  prevented  the  secession  of  Kentucky 
and  Missouri.  It  was  done  with  less  violence,  but  it  was 
done,  and  these  rich  and  powerful  States  saved  to  the 
Union. 

The  swift  and  bloodless  conquest  of  Maryland  in 
spired  the  North  with  the  most  grotesque  conception  of 
the  war  and  its  outcome. 

The  British  and  French  Governments  had  immediately 
recognized  the  Confederate  States  as  belligerents  under 
the  terms  of  international  law  and  closed  their  ports  to 
the  armed  vessels  of  both  contestants.  Mr.  Seward, 
Lincoln's  Secretary  of  State,  hastened  to  assure  the  na 
tions  of  Europe  that  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  was  an 
absurd  impossibility.  It  had  never  entered  the  mind  of 
any  candid  statesman  in  America  and  should  be  dismissed 
at  once  by  statesmen  in  Europe.  And  yet  at  this  time 
eleven  Southern  States,  stretching  from  the  James  to 
the  Rio  Grande,  with  a  population  of  eight  millions,  had 
by  solemn  act  of  their  Legislatures  withdrawn  from  the 
Union  and  their  armies  were  camping  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  City  of  Washington. 

In  all  the  North  not  a  single  statesman  or  a  single 
newspaper  appeared  to  have  any  conception  of  the  seri 
ous  task  before  them.  The  fusillades  of  rant,  passion 
and  bombast  which  filled  the  air  would  have  been  comic 
but  for  the  grim  tragedy  which  was  stalking  in  their 
wake. 

The  "  Rebellion  "  was  ridiculed  and  sneered  at  in 
terms  that  taxed  the  genius  of  the  writers  for  words  of 
contempt. 

The  New  York  Tribune,  the  greatest  and  most  pow 
erful  organ  of  public  opinion  in  the  North,  a  paper 
which  had  boldly  from  the  first  proclaimed  the  right  of 
the  South  to  peaceable  secession,  was  now  swept  away 
with  the  popular  fur}7. 

Its  editor  gravely  declared: 
173 


THE  VICTIM 


"  The  Southern  rebellion  is  nothing  more  or  less  than 
the  natural  recourse  of  all  mean-spirited  and  defeated 
tyrannies  to  rule  or  ruin,  making  of  course  a  wide  dis 
tinction  between  the  will  and  the  power,  for  the  hanging 
of  traitors  is  soon  to  begin  before  a  month  is  over.  The 
Nations  of  Europe  may  rest  assured  that  Jeff  Davis  and 
Co.  will  be  swinging  from  the  battlements  at  Washing 
ton,  at  least  by  the  fourth  of  July.  We  spit  upon  a 
later  and  longer  deferred  justice." 

The  New  York  Times  gave  its  opinion  with  equal 
clearness : 

"  Let  us  make  quick  work.  The  Rebellion  is  an  un 
born  tadpole.  Let  us  not  fall  into  the  delusion  of  mis 
taking  a  local  commotion  for  a  revolution.  A  strong 
active  pull  together  will  do  our  work  in  thirty  days. 
We  have  only  to  send  a  column  of  twenty-five  thousand 
men  across  the  Potomac  to  Richmond  to  burn  out  the 
rats  there ;  another  column  of  twenty-five  thousand  to 
Cairo  to  seize  the  Cotton  ports  of  the  Mississippi  and 
retain  the  remaining  twenty-five  thousand  called  for  by 
the  President  at  Washington  —  not  because  there  is  any 
need  for  them  there  but  because  we  do  not  require  their 
services  elsewhere." 

The  staid  old  Philadelphia  Press  declared : 

"  No  man  of  sense  can  for  a  moment  doubt  that  all 
this  much-ado-about-nothing  will  end  in  a  month.  The 
Northern  people  are  invincible.  The  rebels  are  a  band 
of  ragamuffins  who  will  fly  like  chaff  before  the  wind  on 
our  approach." 

The  West  vied  with  the  East  in  boastful  clamor. 

The  Chicago  Tribune  shouted  from  the  top  of  its  col 
umns: 

"  We  insist  that  the  West  be  allowed  the  honor  of  set 
tling  this  little  trouble  by  herself  since  she  is  most  inter 
ested  in  its  suppression  to  insure  the  free  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi  River.  Let  the  East  stand  aside. 

174 


THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  RANKS 

This  is  our  war.  We  can  end  it  successfully  in  two 
months.  Illinois  can  whip  the  whole  South  by  herself. 
We  insist  on  the  affair  being  turned  over  to  us." 

With  prospects  of  a  short  war  and  cheaply  earned 
glory  the  rage  for  volunteering  was  resistless.  The  war 
for  three  months  was  to  be  a  holiday  excursion  and  ev 
ery  man  would  return  a  hero  crowned  with  garlands  of 
flowers,  the  center  of  admiring  thousands.  The  black 
smiths  of  Brooklyn  were  busy  making  handcuffs  for  one 
of  her  crack  regiments.  Each  volunteer  had  sworn  to 
lead  at  least  one  captive  rebel  in  chains  through  the 
crowded  streets  in  the  great  parade  on  their  return. 

Socola  on  his  arrival  at  Montgomery  from  Charles 
ton  read  these  fulminations  from  the  North  with  amaze 
ment  and  rage.  He  sent  his  bitter  and  emphatic  protest 
against  such  madness  to  Holt.  The  faithful  Joseph 
had  been  rewarded  with  an  office  to  his  liking.  He  was 
now  the  Judge  Advocate  General  of  the  United  States 
Army.  He  turned  Socola's  letters  over  to  Cameron, 
the  new  Secretary  of  War,  who  read  them  with  rising 
wrath. 

"  The  author  of  those  letters,"  he  said  with  a  scowl, 
^  is  either  a  damned  fool,  or  traitor." 

Holt's  lower  lip  was  thrust  out  and  the  lines  of  his  big 
mouth  drawn  into  a  knot. 

"  I  assure  you,  sir  —  he  is  neither.  He  is  absolutely 
loyal.  His  patriotism  is  a  religion.  He  has  entered  his 
dangerous  and  important  mission  with  the  zeal  of  a  re 
ligious  fanatic." 

"  That  accounts  for  it  then  —  he's  insane.  I  don't 
care  to  read  any  more  such  twaddle  and  I  won't  pay  for 
the  services  of  such  a  man  out  of  the  funds  of  the  War 
Department." 

With  the  utmost  difficulty  Holt  secured  the  consent  of 
the  Secretary  of  War  to  continue  Socola's  commission 
for  two  months  longer. 

175 


THE  VICTIM 


The  only  consolation  the  young  patriot  found  in  the 
contemptuous  reply  his  Government  made  to  his  solemn 
warnings  was  the  almost  equal  fatuity  with  which  the 
Southern  people  were  now  approaching  their  first  test 
of  battle. 

Until  the  proclamation  of  President  Lincoln,  both 
Jefferson  Davis  and  the  South  had  believed  in  the  possi 
bility  of  a  peaceful  reconciliation.  Even  when  the  proc 
lamation  had  been  made  and  the  wild  response  of  the 
North  had  been  instantly  given,  the  Southern  people 
refused  to  believe  that  the  millions  of  Northern  voters 
who  still  clung  to  the  old  forms  of  Constitutional  Gov 
ernment  under  the  leadership  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
would  surrender  their  principles,  arm  themselves  and 
march  to  coerce  a  State  at  the  command  of  a  President 
against  whom  they  had  voted. 

Senator  Barton,  from  his  new  position  in  the  Con 
federate  Senate,  scouted  the  idea  of  serious  war. 

"  Bah !  "  he  growled  to  Socola,  who  was  drawing  him 
out.  "  The  Yankees  won't  fight !  " 

"  That's  what  they  say  about  you,  sir,"  was  the  cool 
response. 

"  Who  ever  heard  of  a  race  of  shopkeepers  turning 
into  soldiers?"  The  Senator  laughed.  "Such  men 
have  no  martial  prowess !  They  are  unequal  to  mighty 
deeds  of  valor." 

The  white  teeth  of  the  young  observer  gleamed  in  a 
smile. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  Senator,  I'm  afraid  history 
proves  that  commercial  communities,  once  aroused,  are 
the  most  dogged,  pugnacious,  ambitious  and  obstinate 
fighters  of  the  world  —  Carthage,  Venice,  Genoa,  Hol 
land  and  England  have  surely  proven  this  — " 

"  There's  one  thing  certain,"  Barton  roared.  "  We'll 
bring  England  to  her  knees  if  there  is  a  war.  Cotton  is 
the  King  of  Commerce,  and  we  hold  the  key  of  his  em- 

176 


THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  RANKS 

pire.  The  population  of  England  will  starve  without 
our  cotton.  If  we  need  them  they've  got  to  come  to  our 
rescue,  sir !  " 

Socola  did  not  argue  the  point.  It  was  amazing  how 
widespread  was  this  idea  in  the  South.  He  wrote  his 
Government  again  and  again  that  the  whole  movement 
of  secession  was  based  on  this  conception. 

There  was  one  man  in  Washington  who  read  these 
warnings  with  keen  insight  —  Gideon  Welles,  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy.  The  part  this  quiet,  unassuming  man 
was  preparing  to  play  in  the  mighty  drama  then  unfold 
ing  its  first  scene  was  little  known  or  understood  by  those 
who  were  filling  the  world  with  the  noise  of  their  Muster. 

Jefferson  Davis  at  his  desk  in  Montgomery  saw  with 
growing  anxiety  the  confidence  of  his  people  in  immedi 
ate  and  overwhelming  success.  In  answer  to  Abraham 
Lincoln's  proclamation  calling  for  75,000  volunteers  to 
fight  the  South,  he  called  for  100,000  to  defend  it.  The 
rage  for  volunteering  in  the  South  was  even  greater  than 
the  North.  An  army  of  five  hundred  thousand  men 
could  have  been  enrolled  for  any  length  of  service  if  arms 
and  equipment  could  have  been  found.  It  was  utterly 
impossible  to  arm  and  equip  one  hundred  thousand,  be 
fore  the  first  battle  would  be  fought. 

Ambitious  Southern  boys,  raging  for  the  smell  of 
battle,  rushed  from  post  to  post,  begged  and  pleaded  for 
a  place  in  the  ranks.  They  offered  big  bounties  for  the 
places  assigned  to  men  who  were  lucky  enough  to  be  ac 
cepted. 

The  Confederate  Congress,  to  the  chagrin  of  their 
President,  fixed  the  time  of  service  at  six  months.  Jef 
ferson  Davis  was  apparently  the  ©nly  man  in  the  South 
who  had  any  conception  of  the  gigantic  task  before  his 
infant  government.  He  begged  and  implored  his  Con 
gress  for  an  enrollment  of  three  years  or  the  end  of  the 
war.  The  Congress  laughed  at  his  absurd  fears.  The 
13  177 


THE  VICTIM 


utmost  they  would  grant  was  enlistment  for  the  term  of 
one  year. 

With  grim  foreboding  but  desperate  earnestness  the 
President  of  the  Confederacy  turned  his  attention  to  the 
organization  and  equipment  of  this  force  with  which  he 
was  expected  to  defend  the  homes  of  eight  million  people 
scattered  over  a  territory  of  728,000  square  miles,  with 
an  open  frontier  of  a  thousand  miles  and  three  thousand 
leagues  of  open  sea. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

RICHMOND  IN  GALA  DRESS 

From  the  moment  Virginia  seceded  from  the  Union  it 
was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  Richmond  would  be  the 
capital  of  the  new  Confederacy  —  not  only  because  the 
great  Virginian  was  the  Father  of  the  Country  and  his 
glorious  old  Commonwealth  the  mother  of  States  and 
Presidents,  but  because  her  soil  must  be  the  arena  of  the 
first  great  battle. 

On  May  23,  the  Provisional  Congress  at  Montgomery 
adjourned  to  meet  in  Richmond  on  July  20,  and  Jeffer 
son  Davis  began  his  triumphal  procession  to  the  new 
Capital. 

Jennie  Barton,  her  impulsive  father,  the  Senator,  Mrs* 
Barton,  with  temper  serene  and  unruffled,  and  Signor 
Henrico  Socola  of  the  Sardinian  Ministry,  were  in  the 
party.  Dick  Welford  and  two  boys  were  already  in  Vir 
ginia  with  their  regiments.  Tom  was  in  New  Orleans 
with  Raphael  Semmes,  fitting  out  the  little  steamer  Sum- 
ter  for  a  Confederate  cruiser. 

Senator  Barton  had  been  requested  by  the  new  Presi 
dent  to  act  as  his  aide,  and  the  champion  of  secession 
had  accepted  the  honor  under  protest.  It  was  not  of 
importance  commensurate  with  his  abilities,  but  it  was 
perhaps  worth  while  for  the  moment  until  a  greater  field 
was  opened. 

The  arrangement  made  Socola's  association  with 
Jennie  of  double  importance.  As  the  train  whirled 
through  the  sunlit  fields  of  the  South  he  found  his  posi 
tion  by  her  side  more  and  more  agreeable  and  interest- 

179 


THE  VICTIM 


ing.  She  was  a  girl  of  remarkable  intelligence.  He 
had  observed  that  she  was  not  afraid  of  silence.  Her 
tongue  was  not  forever  going.  In  fact  she  seemed  disin 
clined  to  talk  unless  she  had  something  to  say. 

He  glanced  at  her  from  the  corners  of  his  dark  eyes 
with  a  friendly  smile. 

"  You  are  serious  to-day,  Miss  Jennie?  " 

"  Yes.     I  wish  I  were  a  man !  " 

"  You'd  go  to  the  front,  of  course  ?  " 

«  Yes  —  wouldn't  you?" 

"  For  my  country  —  yes  — " 

He  paused  a  moment  and  went  on  carelessly : 

"  Your  older  brother,  the  Judge,  will  fight  for  the 
Union?" 

The  sensitive  lips  trembled. 

"  No  —  thank  God.  He  has  sent  my  mother  word 
that  for  her  sake  and  mine  he'll  not  fight  his  father  and 
younger  brothers  in  battle.  He's  going  to  do  a  braver 
thing  than  march  to  the  front.  He's  going  to  face  his 
neighbors  in  New  Orleans  and  stand  squarely  by  his 
principles." 

"  It  will  take  a  brave  man  to  do  that,  won't  it?  " 

"  The  bravest  of  the  brave." 

The  train  was  just  pulling  into  a  sleepy  Southern 
town,  the  tracks  running  straight  down  the  center  of  its 
main  street.  A  company  was  drawn  up  to  salute  the 
new  President  and  cheering  thousands  had  poured  in 
from  the  surrounding  country  to  do  him  honor.  They 
cheered  themselves  hoarse  and  were  still  at  it  when  the 
train  slowly  started  northward.  The  company  which 
greeted  their  arrival  with  arms  presented  were  on  board 
now,  chatting,  shouting,  singing,  waving  their  caps  and 
handkerchiefs  to  tear-stained  women. 

The  country  through  which  the  Presidential  party 
passed  had  been  suddenly  transformed  into  a  vast  mili 
tary  camp,  the  whole  population  war  mad. 

180 


RICHMOND  IN  GALA  DRESS 

Every  woman  from  every  window  of  every  house  in 
sight  of  the  train  waved  a  handkerchief.  The  flutter 
of  those  white  flags  never  ceased. 

The  city  of  Richmond  gave  their  distinguished  visitor 
a  noble  reception.  He  was  quartered  temporarily 
at  the  Spotswood  Hotel,  but  the  City  Council  had  pur 
chased  the  handsomest  mansion  in  town  at  a  cost  of 
$40,000  and  offered  it  to  him  as  their  token  of  admira 
tion  of  his  genius. 

Mr.  Davis  was  deeply  touched  by  this  mark  of  esteem 
from  Virginia,  but  sternly  refused  the  gift  for  himself. 
He  accepted  it  for  the  Confederate  Government  as  the 
official  residence  of  the  President. 

Socola  found  the  city  a  mere  comfortable  village  in 
comparison  with  New  York  or  Boston  or  Philadelphia, 
though  five  times  the  size  of  Montgomery.  He  strolled 
through  its  streets  alone,  wondering  in  which  one  of  the 
big  old-fashioned  mansions  lived  the  remarkable  South 
ern  woman  to  whom  his  Government  had  referred  him  for 
orders.  He  must  await  the  arrival  of  the  messenger 
who  would  deliver  to  him  in  person  its  description.  In 
the  meantime  with  tireless  eye  he  was  studying  the  phys 
ical  formation  of  every  street  and  alley.  He  must  know 
it,  every  crook  and  turn. 

Until  the  advent  of  the  troops  Richmond  had  been 
one  of  the  quietest  of  all  the  smaller  cities  of  America. 
Barely  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  one  third  of  whom 
were  negro  slaves,  it  could  boast  none  of  the  displays 
or  excitements  of  a  metropolis.  Its  vices  were  few,  its 
life  orderly  and  its  society  the  finest  type  of  the  genuine 
American  our  country  had  developed. 

Rowdyism  was  unknown.  The  police  department 
consisted  of  a  dozen  "  watchmen  "  whose  chief  duty  was 
to  round  up  a  few  straggling  negroes  who  might  be 
found  on  the  streets  after  nine  o'clock  at  night  and  put 
them  in  "  the  Cage  "  until  morning.  "  The  Cage  "  was 

181 


THE  VICTIM 


a  ramshackled  wooden  building  too  absurd  to  be  hon 
ored  by  the  name  of  prison. 

The  quiet,  shady  streets  were  suddenly  transformed 
into  the  throbbing1,  tumultuous  avenues  of  a  crowded 
Capital  —  already  numbering  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants. 

Its  pulse  beat  with  a  new  and  fevered  life.  Its  at 
mosphere  was  tense  with  the  electric  rumble  of  the  com 
ing  storm  —  everywhere  bustle,  hurry  and  feverish 
preparations  for  war.  The  Tredegar  Iron  Works  had 
doubled  its  force  of  men.  Day  and  night  the  red  glare 
of  the  furnaces  threw  its  sinister  glow  over  the  yellow, 
turbulent  waters  of  the  James.  With  every  throb  now 
of  its  red  heart  a  cannon  was  born  destined  to  slay  a 
thousand  men. 

Every  hill  was  white  with  the  tents  of  soldiers,  their 
camps  stretching  away  into  the  distant  fields  and  for 
ests. 

Every  street  was  thronged.  Couriers  on  blooded 
horses  dashed  to  and  fro  bearing  the  messages  of 
imperious  masters.  From  every  direction  came  the 
crash  of  military  bands.  And  over  all  the  steady,  low 
rumble  of  artillery  and  the  throbbing  tramp  of  soldiers. 
In  every  field  and  wood  for  miles  around  the  city  could 
be  heard  the  neighing  of  horses,  the  bugle  call  of  the 
trooper,  the  shouts  of  gay  recruits  and  the  sharp  com 
mand  of  drilling  officers. 

The  rattle  of  the  ambulance  and  the  long,  red  trenches 
of  the  uncoffined  dead  had  not  come  yet.  They  were 
not  even  dreamed  in  the  hearts  of  the  eager,  rollicking, 
fun-loving  children  of  the  South. 

There  were  as  yet  no  dances,  no  social  festivities. 
The  town  was  soldier  mad.  Few  men  not  in  uniform 
were  to  be  seen  on  the  streets.  A  man  in  citizen's 
clothes  was  under  suspicion  as  to  his  principles. 

With  each  train  new  companies  and  regiments  ar- 
182 


RICHMOND  IN  GALA  DRESS 

rived.  Day  and  night  the  tramp  of  soldiers'  feet,  the 
throb  of  drum,  the  scream  of  fife,  the  gleam  of  bayonets. 

Everywhere  soldiers  were  welcomed,  feted,  lionized. 
The  finest  ladies  of  Richmond  vied  with  one  another  in 
serving  their  soldier  guests.  Society  turned  out  en 
masse  to  every  important  review. 

Southern  society  was  melted  into  a  single  pulsing 
thought  —  the  fight  in  defense  of  their  homes  and  their 
liberty.  In  the  white  heat  of  this  mighty  impulse  the 
barriers  of  class  and  sex  were  melted. 

The  most  delicately  reared  and  cultured  lady  of  so 
ciety  admitted  without  question  the  right  of  any  man 
who  wore  a  gray  uniform  to  speak  to  her  without  intro 
duction  and  escort  her  anywhere  on  the  streets.  In  not 
a  single  instance  was  this  high  privilege  abused  by  an  in 
sult,  indignity  or  an  improper  word. 

Socola  saw  but  one  lady  who  showed  the  slightest  dis 
pleasure. 

A  dainty  little  woman  of  eight,  delicately  trained  in 
the  ways  of  polite  society,  was  shocked  at  the  familiarity 
of  a  soldier  who  had  dared  to  caress  her. 

She  turned  to  her  elderly  companion  and  gasped  with 
indignation : 

"  Auntie !  Did  you  ever !  Any  man  who  wears  a 
stripe  on  his  pantaloons  now  thinks  he  can  speak  to  a 
lady!" 

Socola  laughed  and  passed  on  to  inspect  the  camp  of 
the  famous  Hampton  Legion  of  South  Carolina. 

His  heart  went  out  in  a  sudden  wave  of  admira 
tion  for  these  Southern  people  who  could  merge  thus 
their  souls  and  bodies  into  the  cause  of  their  coun- 
try. 

The  Hampton  Legion  was  recruited,  armed  and 
equipped  and  led  by  Wade  Hampton.  Its  private  sol 
diers  were  the  flower  of  South  Carolina's  society.  The 
dress  parades  of  this  regiment  of  gentlemen  were  the  ad- 

183 


THE  VICTIM 


miration  of  the  town.  The  carriages  that  hung  around 
their  maneuvers  were  as  gay  and  numerous  as  the  as 
semblage  on  a  fashionable  race  course.  Each  member 
of  this  famous  legion  went  into  Richmond  with  his 
trunks  and  body  servant.  They,  too,  were  confident  of 
a  brief  struggle. 

A  kind  fate  held  fast  the  dark  curtains  of  the  future. 
The  camp  was  a  picnic  ground,  and  Death  was  only  a 
specter  of  the  dim  unknown. 

Just  as  Socola  strolled  by  the  grounds,  the  camp 
spied  the  handsome  figure  of  young  Preston  Hampton 
in  a  pair  of  spotless  yellow  kid  gloves.  They  caught 
and  rolled  him  in  the  dust  and  spoiled  his  gloves. 

He  laughed  and  took  it  good  naturedly. 

The  hardier  sons  of  the  South  held  the  attention  of 
the  keen,  observing  eyes  with  stronger  interest.  He 
knew  what  would  become  of  those  trunks  and  fine 
clothes.  The  thing  he  wished  most  to  know  was  the 
quality  and  the  temper  of  the  average  man  in  the  South 
ern  ranks. 

Socola  met  Dick  Welford  suddenly  face  to  face, 
smiled  and  bowed.  Dick  hesitated,  returned  his  recog 
nition  and  offered  his  hand. 

"  Mr.  Welford  — " 

"  Signor  Socola." 

Dick's  greeting  was  a  little  awkward,  but  the  older 
man  put  him  at  once  at  ease  with  his  frank,  friendly 
manners. 

"  A  brave  show  your  Champ  de  Mars,  sir !  " 

"Does  look  like  business,  doesn't  it?"  Dick  re 
sponded  with  pride.  "  Would  you  like  to  go  through 
the  camps  and  see  our  men  ?  " 

"  Very  much." 

"  Come,  I'll  show  you." 

Two  hundred  yards  from  the  camp  of  the  Hampton 
Legion  they  found  the  Louisiana  Zouaves  of  Wheat's 

184 


RICHMOND  IN  GALA  DRESS 

command,    small,    tough-looking    men    with    gleaming 
black  eyes. 

"Frenchmen!"  Dick  sneered.  "They'll  fight 
though  — " 

"  Their  people  in  the  old  world  have  that  reputa 
tion,"  Socola  dryly  remarked. 

Beyond  them  lay  a  regiment  of  fierce,  be-whiskered 
countrymen  from  the  lower  sections  of  Mississippi. 

"  Look  out  for  those  fellows,"  the  young  Southerner 
said  serenely.  "  They're  from  old  Jeff's  home.  You'll 
hear  from  them.  Their  fathers  all  fought  in  Mexico." 

Socola  nodded. 

Beside  the  Mississippians  lay  a  regiment  of  long- 
legged,  sinewy  riflemen  from  Arkansas. 

A  hundred  yards  further  they  saw  the  quaint  coon- 
skin  caps  of  John  B.  Gordon's  company  from  Georgia. 

Socola  watched  these  lanky  mountaineers  with  keen 
interest. 

"The  Raccoon  Roughs,"  Dick  explained.  "First 
company  of  Georgia  volunteers.  They  had  to  march 
over  two  or  three  States  before  anybody  would  muster 
them  in.  They're  happy  as  June  bugs  now." 

They  passed  two  regiments  of  quiet  North  Carolini 
ans.  The  young  Northerner  observed  their  strong, 
muscular  bodies  and  earnest  faces. 

"  And  these  two  large  regiments,  Mr.  Welford?  "  So 
cola  asked. 

"  Oh,"  the  Virginian  exclaimed  with  a  careless  touch 
of  scorn  in  his  voice,  "  they're  Tarheels  —  not  much  for 
looks,  but  I  reckon  they'll  stick." 

"  I've  an  idea  they  will,"  was  the  serious  reply. 

Dick  pointed  with  pride  to  a  fine-looking  regiment  of 
Virginians. 

"  Good-looking  soldiers,"  Socola  observed. 

"Aren't  they?  That's  my  regiment.  You'll  hear 
from  them  in  the  first  battle." 

185 


THE  VICTIM 


"  And  those  giants  ?  "  Socola  inquired,  pointing  to 
the  right  at  a  group  of  tall,  rude-looking  fellows. 

"  Texas  Rangers." 

"  I  shouldn't  care  to  meet  them  in  a  row  — " 

"  You  know  what  General  Taylor  said  of  them  in  the 
Mexican  War?  " 

"  No  — " 

"  They're  anyihvng  but  gentlemen  or  cowards." 

"  I  agree  with  him,"  Socola  laughed. 

"  What  chance  has  a  Yankee  got  against  such  men  ?  " 
Dick  asked  with  a  wag  of  his  big  blond  head. 

"  Let  me  show  you  what  they  think  — " 

Socola  drew  a  leaf  of  Harper's  Magazine  from  his 
pocket  and  spread  it  before  the  young  trooper's  indig 
nant  gaze. 

The  cartoon  showed  a  sickly-looking  Southerner 
carrying  his  musket  under  an  umbrella  accompanied  by 
a  negro  with  a  tray  full  of  mint  juleps. 

"  That's  a  joke,  isn't  it !  "  Dick  roared.  "  Will  you 
give  me  this  paper?  " 

"Certainly,  Monsieur!" 

Dick  folded  the  sheet,  still  laughing.  "I'll  have 
some  fun  with  this  in  camp  to-night.  Come  on  —  I 
want  to  show  you  just  one  more  bunch  of  these  sickly- 
looking  mint-julipers  — " 

Again  the  Southerner  roared. 

They  quickened  their  pace  and  in  a  few  minutes  were 
passing  through  the  camps  of  the  Red  River  men  from 
Arkansas  and  Northern  Louisiana. 

"  Aren't  you  sorry  for  these  poor  fellows  ?  "  Dick 
laughed. 

"  I  have  never  seen  anything  like  them,"  Socola  ad 
mitted,  looking  on  their  stalwart  forms  with  undis 
guised  admiration.  Scarcely  a  man  was  under  six  feet 
in  height,  with  broad,  massive  shoulders  and  chests  and 
not  an  ounce  of  superfluous  flesh.  Their  resemblance 

186 


RICHMOND  IN  GALA  DRESS 

to  each  other  was  remarkable.  Nature  had  cast  each 
one  in  the  same  heroic  mold.  The  spread  of  giant  un 
broken  forests  spoke  in  their  brawny  arms  and  legs. 
The  look  of  an  eagle  soaring  over  great  rivers  and  fer 
tile  plains  flashed  in  their  fearless  eyes. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  them?  "  Dick  asked  with  boy 
ish  pride. 

"  I'd  like  to  send  their  photographs  to  Harper's  — " 

"  For  God's  sake,  don't  do  that ! "  Dick  protested. 
"  If  you  do,  we'll  never  get  a  chance  to  see  a  Yankee. 
I  want  to  get  in  sight  of  'em  anyhow  before  they  run. 
All  I  ask  of  the  Lord  is  to  give  me  one  whack  at  those 
little,  hump-backed,  bow-legged  shoemakers  from  Bos 
ton  ! " 

Socola  smiled  dryly. 

"  In  five  minutes  after  we  meet  —  there  won't  be  a 
shoe-string  left  fit  to  use." 

The  dark  face  flashed  with  a  strange  light  from  the 
depths  of  the  somber  eyes  —  only  for  an  instant  did  he 
lose  self-control.  His  voice  was  velvet  when  he  spoke. 

"  Your  faith  is  strong,  M'sieur !  " 

"  It's  not  faith  —  we  know.  One  Southerner  can 
whip  three  Yankees  any  day." 

"  But  suppose  it  should  turn  out  that  he  had  to  whip 
five  or  six  or  a  dozen  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  think  these  fellows  could  do  it?  " 

Socola  hesitated.  It  was  a  shame  to  pull  down  a 
faith  that  could  remove  mountains.  He  shrugged  his 
slender  shoulders  and  a  pensive  look  stole  over  his  face. 
He  seemed  to  be  talking  to  himself. 

"  Your  President  tells  me  that  his  soldiers  will  do  all 
that  pluck  and  muscle,  endurance  and  dogged  courage, 
dash  and  red-hot  patriotism  can  accomplish.  And  yet 
his  view  is  not  sanguine.  A  sad  undertone  I  caught  in 
his  voice.  He  says  your  war  will  be  long  and 
bloody  — " 

187 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Yes  —  I  know,"  Dick  broke  in,  "  but  nobody  agrees 
with  him.  We'll  show  old  Jeff  what  we  can  do,  if  he'll 
just  give  us  one  chance  —  that's  all  we  ask  —  just  one 
chance.  Read  that  editorial  in  the  Richmond  Exam 
iner—99 

He  thrust  a  copy  of  the  famous  yellow  journal  of  the 
South  into  Socola's  hand  and  pointed  to  a  marked  para 
graph: 

"  From  mountain  top  and  valleys  to  the  shores  of  the 
seas  there  is  one  wild  shout  of  fierce  resolve  to  capture 
Washington  City  at  all  and  every  human  hazard !  " 

The  North  was  marching  southward  with  ropes  and 
handcuffs  with  which  to  end  in  triumph  their  holiday 
excursion  on  July  4.  The  South  was  marching  to  meet 
them  with  eager  pride,  each  man  afraid  the  fight  would 
be  over  before  he  could  reach  the  front  to  fire  a  single 
shot.  And  behind  each  gay  regiment  of  scornful  men 
marched  the  white  silent  figure  of  Death. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  HOUSE  ON  CHURCH  HILL 

As  Socola  left  his  room  at  the  Spotswood  the  follow 
ing  night,  a  stranger  met  him  at  the  turn  of  the  dimly 
lighted  corridor. 

"  Signor  Socola,  I  believe?  " 

"  At  your  service." 

"  I  know  some  mutual  friends  in  Washington  con 
nected  with  the  Sardinian  Ministry — " 

"  I'm  just  starting  for  a  stroll  through  the  city,"  So 
cola  interrupted.  "Will  you  join  me?" 

"  With  pleasure.  As  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the 
streets  of  Richmond,  allow  me  to  be  your  guide." 

Socola  followed  with  a  nod  of  approval.  Their  walk 
led  to  the  highest  of  the  city's  seven  hills.  But  few 
were  stirring  at  this  hour  —  half-past  seven.  The  peo 
ple  were  busy  at  supper. 

The  two  men  paused  at  the  gate  of  a  stately,  old- 
fashioned  mansion  in  the  middle  of  a  spacious  lawn. 
The  odor  of  sweet  pinks  filled  the  air.  The  rose  trellis 
and  elaborate  scheme  of  flower  beds  and  the  boxwood 
hedges  told  the  story  of  wealth  and  culture  and  high  so 
cial  position. 

"  I  wish  to  introduce  you  to  one  of  the  most  charming 
ladies  of  Richmond,"  the  stranger  said  in  quick,  busi 
ness-like  tones,  opening  the  gate  as  if  he  were  used  to 
the  feel  of  the  latch. 

"  Certainly,"  was  the  short  reply. 

In  answer  to  the  rap  of  the  old-fashioned  brass 
knocker,  a  quaint  little  woman  of  forty  opened  the  door 
and  showed  them  into  the  parlor. 

189 


THE  VICTIM 


The  blinds  were  closed,  and  the  room  lighted  by  a 
single  small  kerosene  lamp. 

With  quick  precision  the  stranger  presented  his  com 
panion. 

"  Miss  Van  Lew,  permit  me  to  introduce  to  you  Sig- 
nor  Henrico  Socola  of  the  Sardinian  Ministry.  He  is 
the  duly  accredited  but  unofficial  agent  of  his  Majesty, 
Victor  Emmanuel,  and  is  cultivating  friendly  relations 
with  the  new  Government  of  the  South." 

Miss  Van  Lew  extended  her  hand  and  took  the  out 
stretched  one  with  a  warmth  that  surprised  her  visitor 
beyond  measure. 

"  I  recognized  him  at  once,"  she  said  with  emotion. 

"  Recognized  me  ?  " 

"  Your  dear  mother,  sir,  was  my  schoolmate  in  Phila 
delphia.  I  loved  her.  How  alike  you  are !  " 

"  Then  we  shall  be  friends  — " 

"  We  shall  be  more  than  friends  —  we  shall  be  com 
rades  — " 

She  paused  and  turned  to  the  stranger: 

"  You  can  leave  us  now." 

With  a  bow  the  man  turned  and  left  the  room. 

Socola  studied  the  little  woman  who  had  deliberately 
chosen  to  lay  her  life,  her  fortune  and  her  home  on 
the  altar  of  her  Country.  He  saw  with  a  glance 
at  her  delicate  but  commanding  figure  the  brilliant, 
accomplished,  resolute  woman  of  personality  and 
charm. 

She  took  the  young  man's  hand  again  in  hers  and  led 
him  to  a  high-backed  mahogany  settee.  She  stroked 
the  hands  with  her  thin,  cold  fingers. 

"  How  perfect  the  image  of  your  mother !  I  would 
have  known  you  anywhere.  You  must  know  and  trust 
me.  I  was  sent  North  to  school.  I  came  back  to  Vir 
ginia  a  more  determined  Abolitionist  than  ever.  Our 
people  have  always  hated  Slavery.  I  made  good  my 

190 


THE  HOUSE  ON  CHURCH  HILL 

faith  by  freeing  mine.     We're  not  so  well-to-do  now,  my 
mother  and  I." 

She  paused  and  looked  wistfully  about  the  stately 
room. 

"  This  house  could  tell  the  story  of  gay  and  beauti 
ful  scenes  —  of  balls  —  receptions  and  garden  parties 
in  bowers  of  roses  —  of  coaches  drawn  by  six  snow-white 
horses  standing  at  our  door  for  the  start  to  the  White 
Sulphur  Springs  — " 

She  stopped  suddenly,  mastered  her  emotions  and 
went  on  dreamily: 

"  Of  great  men  and  distinguished  families  our  guests 
from  the  North  and  the  South  —  Bishop  Mann,  Chief 
Justice  John  Marshall,  the  Lees,  the  Robinsons,  Wick- 
hams,  Adams,  Cabells, —  the  Carringtons  —  Fredrika 
Bremer,  the  Swedish  novelist,  visited  us  and  wrote  of 
us  in  her  4  Homes  in  the  New  World.'  Jennie  Lind  in 
the  height  of  her  glory  sang  in  this  room.  Edgar  Al 
lan  Poe  read  here  aloud  his  immortal  poem,  *  The  Ra 
ven.'  You  must  realize  what  it  means  to  me  to  become 
an  outcast  in  Richmond  — " 

She  drew  from  her  bosom  a  newspaper  clipping  and 
handed  it  to  Socola. 

"  Read  that  paragraph  from  this  morning's  editorial 
columns  — " 

The  young  man  scanned  the  marked  clipping. 

RAPPED  ON  THE  KNUCKS 

"  One  of  the  City  papers  contained  on  Monday  a  word  of 
exhortation  to  certain  females  of  Southern  residence  (and 
perhaps  birth)  but  of  decidedly  Northern  and  Abolition 
proclivities.  The  creatures,  though  specially  alluded  to, 
are  not  named.  If  such  people  do  not  wish  to  be  exposed 
and  dealt  with  as  alien  enemies  to  the  country  they  would 
do  well  to  cut  stick  while  they  can  do  so  with  safety  to  their 
worthless  carcasses  — " 

191 


THE  VICTIM 


"  And  you  will  not  «  cut  stick  '?  " 

"  It's  not  the  way  of  our  breed.  I've  been  doing 
what  I  could  for  the  past  year.  I  have  sent  the  Gov 
ernment  at  Washington  letter  after  letter  giving  them 
full  and  accurate  accounts  of  men  and  events  here.  I 
have  made  no  concealment  of  my  principles.  We  are 
Abolitionists  and  Unionists  and  they  know  it.  These 
Southern  men  will  not  lift  their  hands  against  two  help 
less  women  unless  they  discover  the  deeper  plans  I've 
laid.  I've  stopped  them  on  the  streets  and  openly  flung 
my  sentiments  into  their  faces.  As  the  excitement  has 
increased  I  have  grown  more  violent  and  more  incoher 
ent.  They  have  begun  to  say  that  I  am  insane  — " 

Socola  lifted  his  hand  in  a  quiet  gesture. 

"  Good.     You  can  play  the  part." 

A  look  of  elation  overspread  the  thin,  intellectual 
features. 

"  True  —  I'll  do  it.  I  see  it  in  a  flash.  «  Crazy  old 
Bet,'  they'll  call  me  — " 

She  sprang  to  her  feet. 

"  Come  upstairs." 

He  followed  her  light  step  up  three  flights  of  stairs 
into  the  attic.  She  pushed  aside  an  old-fashioned 
wardrobe  and  opened  a  small  door  of  plain  pine  boards 
about  four  feet  in  height  which  led  to  the  darkened  space 
beneath  the  roof. 

She  stooped  and  entered  and  he  followed.  A  small, 
neat  room  was  revealed  eight  feet  high  beside  the  inner 
wall,  with  ceiling  sloping  to  three  feet  on  the  opposite 
side.  An  iron  safe  was  fitted  into  the  space  beside  the 
chimney  and  covered  skillfully  by  a  door  completely 
cased  in  brick.  The  device  was  so  perfect  it  was  impos 
sible  to  detect  the  fact  that  it  was  not  a  part  of  the 
chimney,  each  alternate  layer  of  bricks  fitted  exactly 
into  the  place  chiseled  out  for  it  in  the  wall  of  the  chim 
ney  itself. 

192 


THE  HOUSE  ON  CHURCH  HILL 

Socola  examined  the  arrangement  with  care. 

"  A  most  skillful  piece  of  work !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  I  laid  those  bricks  in  that  door  casing  with  my  own 
hand.  The  old  safe  has  been  there  since  my  grand 
father's  day.  This  is  your  room,  sir.  That  safe  is 
for  your  important  papers.  You  can  spend  the  night 
here  in  safety  when  necessary.  My  house  has  been  of 
fered  to  the  Government  as  the  headquarters  of  its  se 
cret  service.  I  have  in  this  safe  an  important  document 
for  you." 

She  opened  it  and  handed  Socola  a  sealed  envelope 
addressed : 

"  Signer  Henrico  Socola, 

Richmond,  Virginia." 

He  broke  the  seal  and  read  the  order  from  the  new 
Bureau  of  Military  Information  placing  him  in  com 
mand  of  its  Richmond  office. 

He  offered  the  paper  to  the  little  woman  who  held 
the  candle  for  him  to  read. 

"  I  know  its  contents,"  she  said,  observing  him  keenly. 
"  The  Government  has  chosen  wisely.  You  can  render 
invaluable  service  — " 

She  paused  and  looked  at  Socola  with  a  curious  smile. 

"  You  know  any  girls  in  Richmond  ?  " 

"  But  one  and  she  has  just  arrived  with  the  Presi 
dential  party  —  Miss  Jennie  Barton  — " 

"  The  Senator's  daughter?  " 

"  The  same." 

"  Wonderful !  "  the  little  woman  went  on  eagerly. 
"  Her  father  is  on  the  staff  of  Jefferson  Davis.  Old 
Barton  is  a  loud-mouthed  fool  who  can't  keep  a  secret 
ten  minutes.  You  must  make  love  to  his  daughter  — " 

Socola  laughed.     "Is  it  necessary?" 

"  Absolutely.     You  can't  remain  in  Richmond  indef 
initely  without  a  better  excuse  than  your  unofficial  con 
nection  with  the  Ministry  of  Sardinia.     You  are  young. 
14  '  193 


THE  VICTIM 


You  are  handsome.  All  Southern  girls  have  sweet 
hearts —  all  Southern  boys.  They  can't  understand 
the  boy  who  hasn't.  You'll  be  suspected  at  once  unless 
you  comply  with  the  custom  of  the  country." 

"  Of  course.     I  needn't  actually  make  love  to  her  — " 

"  That's  exactly  what  you  must  do.  Make  love  to 
her  with  all  your  might  —  as  if  your  life  depends  on  her 
answer  and  your  stay  in  Richmond  can  be  indefinite." 

"  I  don't  like  the  idea,"  he  protested. 

"  Neither  do  I  like  this  — "  She  swept  the  little  attic 
room  with  a  wave  of  her  slender  hand.  "  Come,  my 
comrade,  you  must  — " 

He  hesitated  a  moment,  laughed,  and  said: 

"  All  right." 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  FLOWER-DECKED  TENT 

When  Socola  rose  the  following  morning  he  deter 
mined  to  throw  every  scruple  to  the  winds  and  devote 
himself  to  Jennie  Barton  with  a  zeal  and  passion  that 
would  leave  to  his  Southern  rivals  no  doubt  as  to  the 
secret  of  his  stay. 

At  the  first  informal  reception  at  the  White  House 
of  the  Confederacy  Jennie  had  been  pronounced  the 
most  fascinating  daughter  of  the  new  Republic,  as  mod 
est  and  unassuming  as  she  was  brilliant  and  beauti 
ful. 

After  the  manner  of  Southern  beaux  he  addressed  a 
note  to  her  on  a  sheet  of  exquisitely  tinted  foreign  pa 
per,  at  the  top  of  which  was  the  richly  embossed  coat 
of  arms  of  the  Socola  family  of  North  Italy. 

He  asked  of  her  the  pleasure  of  a  horseback  ride  over 
the  hills  of  Virginia.  He  was  a  superb  horseman,  and 
she  rode  as  if  born  in  the  saddle. 

He  sealed  the  note  with  a  piece  of  tinted  wax  and 
stamped  it  with  the  die  which  reproduced  his  coat  of 
arms.  He  smiled  with  satisfaction  as  he  addressed  the 
envelope  in  his  smooth  and  perfectly  rounded  handwrit 
ing. 

He  read  the  answer  with  surprise  and  disappoint 
ment.  The  Senator  had  replied  for  his  daughter.  A 
slight  accident  to  her  mother  had  caused  her  to  leave 
on  the  morning  train  for  the  South.  She  would  prob 
ably  remain  at  Fairview  for  two  weeks. 

There  was  no  help  for  it.  He  must  await  her  return.. 
195 


THE  VICTIM 


In  the  meantime  there  was  work  to  do.  The  army  of 
the  South  was  slowly  but  surely  shaping  itself  into  a 
formidable  engine  of  war. 

The  master  mind  at  the  helm  of  the  new  Government 
had  laid  the  foundations  of  one  of  the  most  efficient 
forces  ever  sent  into  the  arena  of  battle.  It  was  as 
yet  only  a  foundation  but  one  which  inspired  in  his  mind 
not  only  a  profound  respect  for  his  judgment,  but  a 
feeling  of  deep  foreboding  for  the  future. 

Jefferson  Davis  had  received  a  training  of  peculiar 
fitness  for  his  task.  The  first  work  before  the  South 
was  the  organization,  equipment  and  handling  of  its 
army  of  defense.  The  President  they  had  called  to  the 
leadership  had  spent  four  years  at  West  Point  and 
seven  years  in  the  army  on  our  frontiers,  pushing  the 
boundaries  of  the  Republic  into  the  West.  He  had  led 
a  regiment  of  volunteers  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  and 
in  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  not  only  saved  the  day  in 
the  moment  of  supreme  crisis,  but  had  given  evidence 
of  the  highest  order  of  military  genius.  On  his  return 
from  the  Mexican  War  he  had  been  appointed  a  Briga 
dier  General  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  but 
had  declined  the  honor. 

For  four  years  as  Secretary  of  War  in  the  Cabinet 
of  Franklin  Pierce  he  had  proven  himself  a  master  of 
military  administration,  had  reorganized  and  placed  on 
a  modern  basis  of  the  highest  efficiency  the  army  of  the 
Union  and  in  this  work  has  proven  himself  a  terror  to 
weakness,  tradition  and  corruption. 

He  knew  personally  every  officer  of  the  first  rank  in 
the  United  States  Army.  His  judgment  of  these  men 
and  their  ability  as  commanders  was  marvelous  in  its 
accuracy.  His  genius  as  an  army  administrator  un 
doubtedly  gave  to  the  South  her  first  advantage  in  the 
opening  of  the  conflict. 

From  the  men  who  had  resigned  from  the  old  army  to 

196 


THE  FLOWER-DECKED  TENT 

cast  their  fortunes  with  the  South  his  keen  eye  selected 
without  hesitation  the  three  men  for  supreme  command 
whose  abilities  had  no  equal  in  America  for  the  posi 
tions  to  which  they  were  assigned.  And  these  three  men 
were  patriots  of  such  singleness  of  purpose,  breadth  of 
vision  and  greatness  of  soul  that  neither  of  them  knew 
he  was  being  considered  for  the  highest  command  until 
handed  his  commission. 

Samuel  Cooper  had  been  Adjutant  General  of  the 
United  States  Army  since  1852.  Davis  knew  his  rec 
ord  of  stern  discipline  and  uncompromising  efficiency, 
and  although  a  man  of  Northern  birth,  he  appointed 
him  Adjutant  General  of  the  Confederate  Army  without 
a  moment's  hesitation. 

Albert  Sidney  Johnston  was  his  second  appointment 
to  the  rank  of  full  General  and  Robert  E.  Lee  his  third 
—  each  destined  to  immortality. 

His  fourth  nomination  for  the  rank  of  full  General 
he  made  with  hesitation.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  under 
the  terms  of  the  law  passed  by  the  Provisional  Congress 
of  the  Confederacy  was  entitled  to  a  position  in  the 
first  rank  as  acting  Commissary  General  of  the  old 
army.  The  keen  intuition  of  the  President  had  per 
ceived  from  the  first  the  evidences  of  hesitation  and  of 
timidity  in  crisis  which  was  the  chief  characteristic  of 
Joseph  E.  Johnston.  His  sense  of  fairness  under  the 
terms  of  the  law  required  that  this  man  be  given  his 
chance.  With  misgivings  but  with  high  hopes  the  ap 
pointment  was  made. 

Robert  E.  Lee  he  made  military  chieftain  of  the  Gov 
ernment  with  headquarters  in  Richmond. 

From  four  points  the  Northern  forces  were  threaten 
ing  the  South.  From  the  West  by  a  flanking  movement 
which  might  open  the  Mississippi  River ;  from  the  moun 
tains  of  Western  Virginia  whose  people  were  in  part 
opposed  to  secession ;  from  Washington  by  a  direct 

197 


THE  VICTIM 


movement  on  Richmond ;  and  from  Fortress  Monroe  on 
the  Virginia  Peninsula. 

The  first  skirmish  before  Fortress  Monroe,  led  by 
B.  F.  Butler,  had  been  repulsed  with  such  ease  no  seri 
ous  danger  was  felt  in  that  quarter.  The  ten  thousand 
men  under  Holmes  and  McGruder  could  hold  Butler  in 
definitely. 

Davis  had  seen  from  the  first  that  one  of  the  supreme 
dangers  of  the  South  lay  in  the  long  line  of  exposed 
frontier  in  the  West.  If  a  commander  of  military  gen 
ius  should  succeed  in  turning  his  flank  here  the  heart 
of  the  lower  South  would  be  pierced. 

For  this  important  command  he  reserved  Albert 
Sidney  Johnston. 

The  Northern  army  under  George  B.  McClellan  and 
Rosecrans  had  defeated  the  troops  in  Western  Virginia. 
In  a  series  of  small  fights  they  had  lost  a  thousand  men 
and  all  their  artillery.  General  Lee  was  dispatched 
from  Richmond  to  repair  if  possible  this  disaster. 

The  first  two  clashes  had  been  a  draw.  The  South 
had  won  first  blood  on  the  Peninsula  —  the  North  in 
Western  Virginia.  The  main  army  of  the  South  was 
now  concentrated  to  oppose  the  main  army  of  the  North 
from  Washington. 

Brigadier  General  Beauregard,  the  widely  acclaimed 
hero  of  Fort  Sumter,  was  in  command  of  this  army 
near  Manassas  Station  on  the  road  to  Alexandria. 

Beauregard's  position  was  in  a  measure  an  accident 
of  fortune.  The  first  shot  had  been  fired  by  him  at 
Sumter.  He  was  the  first  paper-made  hero  of  the  war. 
He  had  led  the  first  regiment  into  Virginia  to  defend 
her  from  invasion. 

He  was  the  man  of  the  hour.  His  training  and  rec 
ord,  too,  gave  promise  of  high  achievements.  He  had 
.graduated  from  West  Point  in  1838,  second  in  a  class  of 
forty-five  men.  His  family  was  of  high  French  ex- 

198 


THE  FLOWER-DECKED  TENT 

traction,  having  settled  in  Louisiana  in  the  reign  of 
Louis  XV.  He  had  entered  the  Mexican  War  a  lieuten 
ant  and  emerged  from  the  campaign  a  major.  He  was 
now  forty-five  years  old,  in  the  prime  of  life.  His  abil 
ity  had  been  recognized  by  the  National  Government 
in  the  beginning  of  the  year  by  his  appointment  as  Su 
perintendent  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point. 
His  commission  had  been  revoked  at  the  last  moment 
by  the  vacillating  Buchanan  because  his  brother-in- 
law,  Senator  Slidell  of  Louisiana,  had  made  a  secession 
speech  in  Washington. 

Jefferson  Davis  was  not  enthusiastic  in  his  confidence 
in  the  new  hero.  He  was  too  much  given  to  outbursts 
of  a  public  kind  to  please  the  ascetic  mind  of  the  South 
ern  leader.  He  had  written  some  silly  letters  to  the 
public  deriding  the  power  of  the  North.  No  one  could 
know  better  than  Davis  how  silly  these  utterances  were. 
He  "  hated  and  despised  the  Yankees."  Davis  feared 
and  recognized  their  power.  Beauregard's  assertion 
that  the  South  could  whip  the  North  even  if  her  only 
arms  were  flintlocks  and  pitchforks  had  been  often  and 
loudly  repeated. 

Of  the  army  marshaling  in  front  of  him  under  the 
command  of  the  venerable  Winfield  Scott  he  wrote 
with  the  utmost  contempt. 

"  The  enemies  of  the  South,"  he  declared,  "  are  little 
more  than  an  armed  rabble,  gathered  together  hastily 
on  a  false  pretense  and  for  an  unholy  purpose,  with  an 
octogenarian  at  its  head !  " 

In  spite  of  his  small  stature,  Beauregard  was  a  man 
of  striking  personal  appearance  —  small,  dark,  thin, 
hair  prematurely  gray,  his  manners  distinguished  and 
severe. 

It  was  natural  that  with  the  fame  of  his  first  victory, 
itself  the  provoking  cause  of  the  conflict,  his  distin 
guished  foreign  name  and  courtly  manners,  he  should 

199 


THE  VICTIM 


have  become  the  toast  of  the  ladies  in  these  early  days 
of  the  pomp  and  glory  of  war.  He  was  the  center  of 
an  ever  widening  circle  of  fair  admirers  who  lavished 
their  attentions  on  him  in  letters,  in  flags,  and  a  thou 
sand  gay  compliments.  His  camp  table  was  filled  with 
exquisite  flowers  which  flanked  and  sometimes  covered 
his  maps  and  plans.  He  used  his  bouquets  for  paper 
weights. 

It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  the  cold 
intellectual  standard  by  which  Davis  weighed  men 
should  have  found  Beauregard  wanting  in  the  qualifica 
tions  of  supreme  command. 

The  President  turned  his  eye  to  the  flower-decked 
tent  of  his  general  with  grave  misgivings.  Yet  he  was 
the  man  of  the  hour.  It  was  fair  that  he  should  have 
his  chance. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  FATAL  VICTORY 

On  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  General  Scott  had 
massed  against  Beauregard  the  most  formidable  army 
which  had  ever  marched  under  the  flag  of  the  Union. 
Its  preparation  was  considered  thorough,  its  numbers 
all  that  could  be  handled,  and  its  artillery  was  the  best 
in  the  world.  All  the  regular  army  east  of  the  Rockies, 
seasoned  veterans  of  Indian  campaigns,  were  joined 
with  the  immense  force  of  volunteers  from  the  Northern 
States  —  fifty  full  regiments  of  volunteers,  eight  com 
panies  of  regular  infantry,  four  companies  of  marines, 
nine  companies  of  regular  cavalry  and  twelve  batteries 
of  artillery  with  forty-nine  big  guns. 

In  command  of  this  army  of  invasion  was  General 
McDowell,  held  to  be  the  most  scientific  general  in  the 
North. 

To  supplement  Beauregard's  weakness  as  a  command 
ing  General  in  case  of  emergency,  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
was  placed  at  Harper's  Ferry  to  guard  the  entrance 
of  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  secure  the  removal  of  the 
invaluable  machinery  saved  from  the  Arsenal,  and  form 
a  junction  with  Beauregard  the  moment  he  should  be 
threatened. 

The  movement  of  General  Patterson's  army  against 
Harper's  Ferry  had  been  too  obviously  a  feint  to  de 
ceive  either  Davis  or  Lee,  his  chief  military  adviser. 
Johnston  was  given  ten  thousand  men  and  able  assist 
ants  including  General  Jackson. 

On  the  tenth  of  July  Beauregard,  anxiously  await- 
201 


THE  VICTIM 


ing  information  of  the  Federal  advance,  received  an 
important  message  from  an  accomplished  Southern 
woman,  Mrs.  Rose  O'Neal  Greenhow.  She  had  re 
mained  in  Washington  as  Miss  Van  Lew  had  in  Rich 
mond,  to  lay  her  life  on  the  altar  of  her  country.  Dur 
ing  the  administration  of  Buchanan  she  had  been  a 
leader  of  Washington  society.  She  was  now  a  widow, 
noted  for  her  wealth,  beauty,  wit  and  forceful  person 
ality.  Her  home  was  the  meeting  place  of  the  most 
brilliant  men  and  women  of  the  old  regime.  Buchanan 
was  her  personal  friend,  as  was  William  H.  Seward. 
Her  niece,  a  granddaughter  of  Dolly  Madison,  was  the 
wife  of  the  Little  Giant  of  the  West,  Stephen  A.  Doug 
las. 

Before  leaving  Washington  to  become  the  Adjutant 
General  of  Beauregard's  army  Colonel  Thomas  Jordan 
had  given  her  the  cipher  code  of  the  South  and  arranged 
to  make  her  house  the  Northern  headquarters  of  the 
Southern  secret  service. 

Her  first  messenger  was  a  girl  carefully  disguised  as  a 
farmer's  daughter  returning  from  the  sale  of  her  vegeta 
bles  in  the  Washington  market.  She  passed  the  lines 
without  challenge  and  delivered  her  message  into  Beau- 
regard's  hands. 

With  quick  decision  Beauregard  called  his  aide  and 
dispatched  the  news  to  the  President  at  Richmond : 

"  I  have  positive  information  direct  from  Washington 
that  the  enemy  will  move  in  force  across  the  Potomac  on 
Manassas  via  Fairfax  Court  House  and  Centreville.  I 
urge  the  immediate  concentration  of  all  available  forces  on 
my  lines/' 

The  Southern  commander  began  his  preparations 
to  receive  the  attack. 

The  house  on  Church  Hill  had  not  been  idle.     Rich- 
202 


THE  FATAL  VICTORY 


mond   swarmed  with  Federal  spies  under  the   skillful 
guidance  of  Socola. 

General  Scott  knew  in  Washington  within  twenty- 
four  hours  that  Beauregard  was  planting  his  men  be 
hind  the  Bull  Run  River  in  a  position  of  great  strength 
and  that  the  formation  of  the  ground  was  such  with 
Bull  Run  on  his  front  that  his  dislodgment  would  be  a 
tremendous  task. 

The  advance  of  the  Federal  army  was  delayed  —  de 
layed  until  the  last  gun  and  scrap  of  machinery  from 
Harper's  Ferry  had  been  safely  housed  in  Richmond 
and  Fayetteville  and  Johnston  had  withdrawn  his  army 
to  Winchester  in  closer  touch  with  Beauregard. 

And  still  the  Union  army  did  not  move.  Beauregard 
sent  a  trusted  scout  into  Washington  to  Mrs.  Green- 
how  with  a  scrap  of  paper  on  which  was  written  in 
cipher  the  two  words : 

"Trust  Bearer—" 

He  arrived  at  the  moment  she  had  received  the  long 
sought  information  of  the  date  of  the  army's  march. 
She  glanced  at  the  stolid  masked  face  of  the  messenger 
and  hesitated  a  moment. 

"You  are  a  Southerner?" 

Donellan  smiled. 

"  I've  spent  most  of  my  life  in  Washington,  Madam," 
he  said  frankly.  "  I  was  a  clerk  in  the  Department  of 
the  Interior.  I  cast  my  fortunes  with  the  South." 

It  was  enough.  Her  keen  intuitions  had  scented 
danger  in  the  man's  manner,  his  walk  and  personality. 
He  was  not  a  typical  Southerner.  The  officials  of  the 
Secret  Service  Bureau  had  already  given  her  evidence 
of  their  suspicions.  She  could  not  be  too  careful. 

She  seized  her  pen  and  hastily  wrote  in  cipher: 

"  Order  issued  for  McDowell  to  move  on  Manassas 
to-night." 

She  handed  the  tiny  scrap  of  paper  to  Donellan. 
203 


THE  VICTIM 


"  My  agents  will  take  you  in  a  buggy  with  relays  of 
horses  down  the  Potomac  to  a  ferry  near  Dumfries. 
You  will  be  ferried  across." 

The  man  touched  his  hat. 

"  I'll  know  the  way  from  there,  Madam." 

The  scout  delivered  his  message  into  Beauregard's 
hands  that  night  before  eight  o'clock. 

At  noon  the  next  day  Colonel  Jordan  had  placed  in 
her  hands  his  answer: 

"  Yours  received  at  eight  o'clock.  Let  them  come. 
We  are  ready.  We  rely  upon  you  for  precise  informa 
tion.  Be  particular  as  to  description  and  destination 
of  forces  and  quantity  of  artillery." 

She  had  not  been  idle.  She  was  able  to  write  a  mes 
sage  of  almost  equal  importance  to  the  one  she  had  dis 
patched  the  day  before.  With  quick  nervous  hand  she 
wrote  on  another  tiny  scrap  of  paper: 

"  The  Federal  commander  has  ordered  the  Manassas 
railroad  to  be  cut  to  prevent  the  junction  of  Johnston 
with  Beauregard." 

The  moment  the  first  authentic  information  reached 
President  Davis  of  the  purpose  to  attack  Beauregard 
he  immediately  urged  General  Johnston  to  make  his 
preparations  for  the  juncture  of  their  forces. 

And  at  once  the  President  received  confirmation  of 
his  fears  of  his  General-in-Chief.  Johnston  delayed 
and  began  a  correspondence  of  voluminous  objections. 

July  17,  on  receipt  of  the  dispatch  to  Beauregard 
announcing  the  plan  to  cut  the  railroad,  the  President 
was  forced  to  send  Johnston  a  positive  order  to  move 
his  army  to  Manassas.  The  order  was  obeyed  with  a 
hesitation  which  imperiled  the  issue  of  battle.  And 
while  on  the  march,  Beauregard's  pickets  exchanging 
shots  with  McDowell's  skirmish  line,  Johnston  began  the 
first  of  his  messages  of  complaint  and  haggling  to  his 
Chief  at  Richmond.  Jealous  of  Beauregard's  popu- 

204 


THE  FATAL  VICTORY 


larity  and  fearful  of  his  possible  insubordination, 
Johnston  telegraphed  Davis  demanding  that  his  rela 
tive  rank  to  Beauregard  should  be  clearly  defined  before 
the  juncture  of  their  armies. 

The  question  was  utterly  unnecessary.  The  promo 
tion  of  Johnston  to  the  full  grade  of  general  could  leave 
no  conceivable  doubt  on  such  a  point.  The  President 
realized  with  a  sickening  certainty  the  beginning  of  a 
quarrel  between  the  two  men,  dangerous  to  the  cause  of 
the  South.  Their  failure  to  act  in  harmony  would 
make  certain  the  defeat  of  the  raw  recruits  on  their 
first  field  of  battle. 

He  decided  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  to  go  in 
person  and  prevent  this  threatened  quarrel.  Already 
blood  had  flowed.  With  a  strong  column  of  infantry, 
artillery  and  cavalry  McDowell  had  attempted  to  force 
the  approaches  to  one  of  the  fords  of  Bull  Run.  They 
were  twice  driven  back  and  withdrew  from  the  field. 
Longstreet's  brigade  had  lost  fifteen  killed  and  fifty- 
three  wounded  in  holding  his  position. 

The  President  hastened  to  telegraph  his  sulking  gen 
eral  the  explicit  definition  of  rank  he  had  demanded : 

RICHMOND,  July  20,  1861. 
"  General  J.  E.  Johnston, 

"  Manassas   Junction,  Virginia. 

"  You  are  a  General  of  the  Confederate  Army  pos 
sessed  of  the  power  attached  to  that  rank.  You  will  know 
how  to  make  the  exact  knowledge  of  Brigadier  General 
Beauregard,  as  well  of  the  ground  as  of  the  troops  and 
preparation  avail  for  the  success  of  the  object  for  which 
you  cooperate.  The  zeal  of  both  assures  me  of  harmonious 
action. 

"  JEFFERSON  DAVIS." 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  President  was  consumed  with 
painful  anxiety  lest  there  should  not  be  harmonious 

205 


THE  VICTIM 


action  if  Johnston  should  reach  the  field  in  time  for 
the  fight.  His  own  presence  was  required  by  law  at 
Richmond  on  July  20,  for  the  delivery  of  his  message 
to  the  assembled  Congress.  It  was  impossible  for  him 
to  leave  for  the  front  before  Sunday  morning  the  21st. 

The  battle  began  at  eight  o'clock. 

General  McDowell's  army  had  moved  to  this  at 
tack  hounded  by  the  clamor  of  demagogues  for  the 
immediate  capture  of  Richmond  by  his  "  Grand 
Army." 

Every  Northern  newspaper  had  dinned  into  his  ears 
and  the  ears  of  an  impatient  public  but  one  cry  for 
months : 

"  On  to  Richmond !  " 

At  last  the  news  was  spread  in  Washington  that  the 
army  would  move  and  bivouac  in  Richmond's  public 
square  within  ten  days.  The  march  was  to  be  a  tri 
umphal  procession.  The  Washington  politicians  filled 
wagons  and  carriages  with  champagne  to  celebrate  the 
victory.  Tickets  were  actually  printed  and  distributed 
for  a  ball  in  Richmond.  The  army  was  accompanied 
by  long  lines  of  excited  spectators  to  witness  the  one 
grand  struggle  of  the  war  —  Congressmen,  toughs 
from  the  saloons,  gaudy  ladies  from  questionable  re 
sorts,  a  clamoring,  perspiring  rabble  bent  on  witnessing 
scenes  of  blood. 

The  Union  General's  information  as  to  Beauregard's 
position  and  army  was  accurate  and  full.  He  knew 
that  Johnston's  command  of  ten  thousand  men  had  be 
gun  to  arrive  the  day  before.  He  did  not  know  that 
half  of  them  were  still  tangled  up  somewhere  on  the 
railroad  waiting  for  transportation.  Even  with  John 
ston's  entire  command  on  the  ground  his  army  outnum 
bered  the  Southerners  and  his  divisions  of  seasoned  vet 
erans  from  the  old  army  and  his  matchless  artillery 
gave  him  an  enormous  advantage. 

206 


THE  FATAL  VICTORY 


With  consummate  skill  he  planned  the  battle  and  be 
gan  its  successful  execution. 

His  scouts  had  informed  him  that  the  Southern  line 
was  weak  on  its  left  wing  resting  on  the  Stone  Bridge 
across  the  river.  Here  the  long  drawn  line  of  Beau- 
regard's  army  thinned  to  a  single  regiment  supported 
at  some  distance  by  a  battalion.  Here  the  skillful 
Union  General  determined  to  strike. 

At  two-thirty  before  daylight  his  dense  lines  of  en 
thusiastic  men  swung  into  the  dusty  moonlit  road  for 
their  movement  to  flank  the  Confederate  left. 

Swiftly  and  silently  the  flower  of  McDowell's  army, 
eighteen  thousand  picked  men,  moved  under  the  cover 
of  the  night  to  their  chosen  crossing  at  Sudley's  Ford, 
two  miles  beyond  the  farthest  gray  picket  of  Beaure- 
gard's  left. 

T3rler's  division  was  halted  at  the  Stone  Bridge  on 
which  the  lone  regiment  of  Col.  Evans  lay  beyond  the 
stream.  He  was  ordered  to  feign  an  attack  on  that 
point  while  the  second  and  third  divisions  should  creep 
cautiously  along  a  circuitous  road  two  miles  above, 
cross  unopposed  and  slip  into  the  rear  of  Beaure- 
gard's  long-drawn  left  wing,  roll  it  up  in  a  mighty 
scroll  of  flame,  join  Tyler's  division  as  it  should  sweep 
across  the  Stone  Bridge  and  together  the  three  divisions 
in  one  solid  mass  could  crush  the  ten-mile  battle  line 
into  hopeless  confusion. 

The  plan  was  skillfully  and  daringly  conceived. 

Tyler's  division  halted  at  the  Stone  Bridge  and  si 
lently  formed  as  the  first  glow  of  dawn  tinged  the  east 
ern  hills. 

The  dull  red  of  the  July  sun  was  just  coloring  the 
sky  with  its  flame  when  the  second  and  third  divisions 
crossed  Bull  Run  at  Sudley's  Ford  and  began  their  swift 
descent  upon  the  rear  of  the  unsuspecting  Southern 
army. 

207 


THE  VICTIM 


As  the  sun  burst  above  the  hills,  a  circle  of  white 
smoke  suddenly  curled  away  from  a  cannon's  mouth 
above  the  Stone  Bridge  and  slowly  rose  in  the  still,  clear 
morning  air.  Its  sullen  roar  echoed  over  the  valley. 
The  gray  figures  on  the  hill  beyond  leaped  to  their  feet 
and  looked.  Only  the  artillery  was  engaged  and  their 
shots  were  falling  short. 

The  Confederates  appeared  indifferent.  The  action 
was  too  obviously  a  feint.  Colonel  Evans  was  holding 
his  regiment  for  a  clearer  plan  of  battle  to  develop. 
From  the  hill-top  on  which  his  men  lay  he  scanned  with 
increasing  uneasiness  the  horizon  toward  the  west.  In 
the  far  distance  against  the  bright  Southern  sky  loomed 
the  dark  outline  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  heavy  back 
ground  brought  out  in  vivid  contrast  the  woods  and 
fields,  hollows  and  hills  of  the  great  Manassas  plain  in 
the  foreground. 

Suddenly  he  saw  it  —  a  thin  cloud  of  dust  rising  in 
the  distance.  As  the  rushing  wall  of  sixteen  thousand 
men  emerged  from  the  "  Big  Forest  "  through  which 
they  had  worked  their  way  along  the  crooked  track  of 
a  rarely  used  road,  the  dust  cloud  flared  in  the  sky  with 
ominous  menace. 

Colonel  Evans  knew  its  meaning.  Beauregard's  army 
had  been  flanked  and  the  long  thin  lines  of  his  left  wing 
were  caught  in  a  trap.  When  the  first  rush  of  the  cir 
cling  host  had  swept  his  little  band  back  from  the  Stone 
Bridge  Tyler's  army  would  then  cross  and  the  three  di 
visions  swoop  down  on  the  doomed  men. 

Evans  suddenly  swung  his  regiment  and  two  field 
pieces  into  a  new  line  of  battle  facing  the  on-rushing 
host  and  sent  his  courier  flying  to  General  Bee  to  ask 
that  his  brigade  be  moved  instantly  to  his  support. 

When  the  shock  came  there  were  five  regiments  and 
six  little  field  pieces  in  the  Southern  ranks  to  meet  Mc 
Dowell's  sixteen  thousand  troops. 

208 


THE  FATAL  VICTORY 


With  deafening  roar  their  artillery  opened.  The 
long  dense  lines  of  closely  packed  infantry  began  their 
steady  firing  in  volleys.  It  sounded  as  if  some  giant 
hand  had  grasped  the  hot  Southern  skies  and  was  tear 
ing  their  blue  canvas  into  strips  and  shreds, 

For  an  hour  Bee's  brigade  withstood  the  onslaught 
of  the  two  Federal  divisions  —  and  then  began  to  slowly 
fall  back  before  the  resistless  wall  of  fire.  The  Union 
army  charged  and  drove  the  broken  lines  a  half  mile 
before  they  rallied. 

Tyler's  division  now  swept  across  the  Stone  Bridge 
and  the  shattered  Confederate  left  wing  was  practically 
surrounded  by  overwhelming  odds.  Again  the  storm 
burst  on  the  unsupported  lines  of  Bee  and  drove  them 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  before  they  paused. 

The  charging  Federal  army  had  struck  something 
they  were  destined  to  feel  again  on  many  a  field  of 
blood. 

General  T.  J.  Jackson  had  suddenly  swung  his  brig 
ade  of  five  regiments  into  the  breach  and  stopped  the 
wave  of  fire. 

Bee  rushed  to  Jackson's  side. 

"  General,"  he  cried  pathetically,  "  they  are  beating 
us  back!" 

The  somber  blue  eyes  of  the  Virginian  gleamed  be 
neath  the  heavy  lashes : 

"  Then  sir,  we  will  give  them  the  bayonet !  " 

Bee  turned  to  his  hard-pressed  men  and  shouted: 

"  See  Jackson  and  his  Virginians  standing  like  a 
stone  wall !  Let  us  conquer  or  die !  " 

The  words  had  scarcely  passed  his  lips  when  Bee  fell, 
mortally  wounded. 

Four  miles  away  on  the  top  of  a  lonely  hill  sat  Beau- 
regard  and  Johnston  befogged  in  a  series  of  pitiable 
blunders. 

The  flanking  of  the  Southern  army  was  a  complete 
15  209 


THE  VICTIM 


and  overwhelming  surprise.  Johnston,  unacquainted 
with  the  ground,  had  yielded  the  execution  of  the  battle 
to  his  subordinate. 

While  the  two  puzzled  generals  were  waiting  on  their 
hill  top  for  their  orders  of  battle  to  be  developed  on  the 
right  they  looked  to  the  left  and  the  whole  valley  was  a 
boiling  hell  of  smoke  and  dust  and  flame.  Their  left 
flank  had  been  turned  and  the  triumphant  enemy  was 
rolling  their  long  line  up  in  a  shroud  of  flame  and 
death. 

The  two  Generals  put  spurs  to  their  horses  and 
dashed  to  the  scene  of  action,  sending  their  couriers  fly 
ing  to  countermand  their  first  orders.  They  reached 
the  scene  at  the  moment  Bee's  and  Evans*  shattered 
lines  were  taking  refuge  in  a  wooded  ravine  and  Jackson 
had  moved  his  men  into  a  position  to  breast  the  shock 
of  the  enemy's  avalanche. 

In  his  excitement  Johnston  seized  the  colors  of  the 
fourth  Alabama  regiment  and  offered  to  lead  them  in  a 
charge. 

Beauregard  leaped  from  his  horse,  faced  the  troops 
and  shouted: 

"  I  have  come  to  die  with  you !  " 

The  first  of  the  reserves  were  rushing  to  the  front  in 
a  desperate  effort  to  save  the  day.  But  in  spite  of  the 
presence  of  the  two  Commanding  Generals,  in  spite  of 
the  living  stone  wall  Jackson  had  thrown  in  the  path 
of  the  Union  hosts,  a  large  part  of  the  crushed  left  wing 
could  not  be  stopped  and  in  mad  panic  broke  for  the 
rear  toward  Manassas  Junction. 

The  fate  of  the  Southern  army  hung  on  the  problem 
of  holding  the  hill  behind  Jackson's  brigade.  On  its 
bloody  slopes  his  men  crouched  with  rifles  leveled  and 
from  them  poured  a  steady  flame  into  the  ranks  of  the 
charging  Union  columns. 

Beauregard  led  the  right  wing  of  his  newly  formed 
210 


THE  FATAL  VICTORY 


battle  line  and  Jackson  the  center  in  a  desperate  charge. 
The  Union  ranks  were  pierced  and  driven,  only  to  re 
form  instantly  and  hurl  their  assailants  back  to  their 
former  position.  Charge  and  counter-charge  followed 
in  rapid  and  terrible  succession. 

The  Confederates  were  being  slowly  overwhelmed. 
The  combined  Union  divisions  now  consisted  of  an  en 
veloping  battle  line  of  twenty  thousand  infantry,  seven 
companies  of  cavalry  and  twenty-four  pieces  of  artil 
lery,  while  behind  them  yet  hung  ten  thousand  reserves 
eager  to  rush  into  action. 

Beauregard's  combined  forces  defending  the  hill  were 
scarcely  seven  thousand  men.  At  two  o'clock  the  des 
perate  Southern  commander  succeeded  in  bringing  up 
additional  regiments  from  his  right  wing.  Two  bri 
gades  at  last  were  thrown  into  the  storm  center  and  a 
shout  rose  from  the  hard-pressed  Confederates.  Again 
they  charged,  drove  the  Union  hosts  back  and  captured 
a  battery  of  artillery. 

The  hill  was  saved  and  the  enemy  driven  across  the 
turnpike  into  the  woods. 

McDowell  now  hurried  in  a  division  of  his  reserves 
and  re-formed  his  battle  line  for  the  final  grand  assault. 
Once  more  he  demonstrated  his  skill  by  throwing  his 
right  wing  into  a  wide  circling  movement  to  envelop  the 
Confederate  positon  on  its  left  flank. 

The  scene  was  magnificent.  As  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach  the  glittering  bayonets  of  the  Union  infantry 
could  be  seen  sweeping  steadily  through  field  and  wood 
flanked  by  its  cavalry.  Beauregard  watched  the  cor 
don  of  steel  draw  around  his  hard-pressed  men  and 
planted  his  regiments  with  desperate  determination  to 
hurl  them  back. 

Far  off  in  the  distance  rose  a  new  cloud  of  dust  in  the 
direction  of  the  Manassas  railroad.  At  their  head  was 
lifted  a  flag  whose  folds  drooped  in  the  hot,  blistering 

211 


THE  VICTIM 


July  air.  They  were  moving  directly  on  the  rear  of 
McDowell's  circling  right  wing. 

If  they  were  Union  reserves  the  day  was  lost. 

The  Southerner  lifted  his  field  glasses  and  watched 
the  drooping  flag  now  shrouded  in  dust  —  now  emerging 
in  the  blazing  sun.  His  glasses  wrere  not  strong  enough. 
He  could  not  make  out  its  colors. 

Beauregard  turned  to  Colonel  Evans,  whose  little  reg 
iment  had  fought  with  sullen  desperation  since  sunrise. 

"  I  can't  make  out  that  flag.  If  it's  Patterson's 
army  from  the  valley  —  God  help  us  — " 

"  It  may  be  Elzey  and  Kirby  Smith's  regiments,"  Ev 
ans  replied.  "  They're  lost  somewhere  along  the  road 
from  Winchester." 

Again  Beauregard  strained  his  eyes  on  the  steadily 
advancing  flag.  It  was  a  moment  of  crushing  agony. 

"  I'm  afraid  it's  Patterson's  men.  We  must  fall  back 
on  our  last  reserve  — " 

He  quickly  lowered  his  glasses. 

"I  haven't  a  courier  left,  Colonel.  You  must  help 
me—" 

"  Certainly,  General." 

"  Find  Johnston,  and  ask  him  to  at  once  mass  the  re 
serves  to  support  and  protect  our  retreat  — " 

Evans  started  immediately  to  execute  the  order. 

"  Wait !  "  Beauregard  shouted. 

His  glasses  were  again  fixed  on  the  advancing  flag. 
A  gust  of  wind  suddenly  flung  its  folds  into  the  bright 
Southern  sky  line  —  the  Stars  and  Bars  of  the  Confed 
eracy  ! 

"  Glory  to  God ! "  the  commander  exclaimed. 
"  They're  our  men !  " 

The  dark  face  of  the  little  General  flashed  with  ex 
citement  as  he  turned  to  Evans : 

"  Ride,  Colonel  —  ride  with  all  your  might  and  order 
General  Kirby  Smith  to  press  his  command  forward  at 

212 


THE  FATAL  VICTORY 


double  quick  and  strike  that  circling  line  in  the  flank 
and  rear !  " 

There  were  but  two  thousand  in  the  advancing  col 
umn  but  the  moral  effect  of  their  sudden  assault  on 
the  rear  of  the  advancing  victorious  men,  unconscious 
of  their  presence,  would  be  tremendous.  A  charge  at 
the  same  moment  by  his  entire  army  confronting  the  en 
emy  might  snatch  victory  out  of  the  jaws  of  defeat. 

Beauregard  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  hard- 
pressed  front,  and  waited  the  thrilling  cry  of  Smith's 
men.  At  last  it  came,  the  heaven-piercing,  hell-quiver 
ing,  Rebel  yell  —  the  triumphant  cry  of  the  Southern 
hunter  in  sight  of  his  game  \ 

Jackson,  Longstreet  and  Early  with  sudden  rush  of 
tigers  sprang  at  the  throats  of  the  Union  lines  in  front. 

The  men  had  scarcely  gripped  their  guns  to  receive 
the  assault  when  from  the  rear  rose  the  unearthly  yell 
of  the  new  army  swooping  down  on  their  unprotected 
flank. 

It  was  too  much  for  the  raw  recruits  of  the  North. 
They  had  marched  and  fought  with  dogged  courage 
since  two  o'clock  before  day  —  without  pause  for  food 
or  drink.  It  was  now  four  in  the  afternoon  and  the 
blazing  sun  of  July  was  pouring  its  merciless  rays  down 
on  their  dust-covered  and  smoke-grimed  faces  without 
mercy. 

McDowell's  right  wing  was  crumpled  like  an  eggshell 
between  the  combined  charges  front  and  rear.  It  broke 
and  rushed  back  in  confusion  on  his  center.  The  whole 
army  floundered  a  moment  in  tangled  mass.  In  vain 
their  officers  shouted  themselves  hoarse  proclaiming 
their  victory  and  ordering  them  to  rally. 

Wild,  hopeless,  senseless,  unreasoning  panic  had 
seized  the  Union  army.  They  threw  down  their 
guns  in  thousands  and  started  at  breakneck  speed  for 
Washington.  With  every  jump  they  cursed  their  idi- 

213 


THE  VICTIM 


otic  commanders  for  leading  them  blindfolded  into  the 
jaws  of  hell.  At  least  they  had  common  sense  enough 
left  to  save  what  was  left. 

The  fields  were  covered  with  black  swarms  of  flying 
soldiers.  They  cut  the  horses  from  the  gun  carriages, 
mounted  them  and  dashed  forward  trampling  down  the 
crazed  mobs  on  foot. 

As  the  shouting,  screaming  throng  rushed  at  the  Cub 
Run  bridge,  a  well  directed  shot  from  Kemper's  battery 
smashed  a  team  of  horses  that  were  crossing.  The 
wagon  was  upset  and  the  bridge  choked. 

In  mad  efforts  to  force  a  passage  mob  piled  on  mob 
until  the  panic  enveloped  every  division  of  the  army 
that  thirty  minutes  before  was  sweeping  with  swift,  sure 
tread  to  its  final  victorious  charge. 

Across  every  bridge  and  ford  of  Bull  Run  the  panic- 
stricken  thousands  rushed  pellmell,  horse,  foot,  artil 
lery,  wagons,  ambulances,  excursion  carriages,  red- 
jowled  politicians  mingling  with  screaming  women  whose 
faces  showed  death  white  through  the  rouge  on  their  lips 
and  cheeks. 

For  three  miles  rolled  the  dark  tide  of  ruin  and  con 
fusion  —  with  not  one  Confederate  soldier  in  sight. 

It  was  three  o'clock  before  the  train  bearing  the  anx 
ious  Confederate  President  and  his  staff  drew  into  Ma- 
nassas  Junction.  He  had  heard  no  news  from  the  front 
and  feared  the  worst.  The  long  deep  boom  of  the  great 
guns  told  him  that  the  battle  was  raging. 

From  the  car  window  he  saw  rising  an  ominous  cloud 
of  dust  rapidly  approaching  the  Junction.  To  his 
trained  eye  it  could  mean  but  one  thing  —  retreat. 

He  sprang  from  the  car  and  asked  its  meaning  of  a 
pale  trembling  youth  in  disheveled,  torn  gray  uniform. 

Billy  Barton  turned  his  bloodshot  eyes  on  the  Presi 
dent.  His  teeth  were  chattering. 

"  M-m-eaning  of  w-what?  "  he  stammered. 
214 


THE  FATAL  VICTORY 


"  That  cloud  of  dust  coming  toward  the  station?  " 

Billy  stared  in  the  direction  the  President  pointed. 

"  Why,  that's  the  —  the  —  w-w-wagoners  —  they're 
trying  to  save  the  pieces  I  reckon  — " 

"  The  army  has  been  pushed  back?  "  the  President 
asked. 

"  No,  sir  —  they  —  they  never  p-p-ushed  'em  back ! 
They  —  they  just  jumped  right  on  top  of  'em  and  made 
hash  out  of  'em  where  they  stood!  Thank  God  a  few 
of  us  got  away." 

The  President  turned  with  a  gesture  of  impatience  to 
an  older  man,  dust-covered  and  smoke-smeared. 

"  Can  you  direct  me  to  General  Beauregard's  head 
quarters  ?  " 

"  Beauregard's  dead ! "  he  shouted,  rushing  toward 
the  train  to  board  it  for  home.  "  Johnston's  dead. 
Bee's  dead.  Bartow's  dead.  They're  all  dead  —  piled 
in  heaps  —  fur  ez  ye  eye  kin  see.  Take  my  advice  and 
get  out  of  here  quick." 

Without  waiting  for  an  answer  he  scrambled  into  the 
coach  from  which  the  President  had  alighted. 

The  station  swarmed  now  with  shouting,  gesticulat 
ing,  panic-stricken  men  from  the  front.  They  crowded 
around  the  conductor. 

"Pull  out  of  this!" 

"  Crowd  on  steam !  " 

"  Save  your  engine  and  your  train,  man !  " 

"  And  take  us  with  you  for  God's  sake !  " 

The  President  pushed  his  way  through  the  crowd. 

"  I  must  go  on,  Conductor  —  the  train  is  the  only 
way  to  reach  the  field — " 

"  I'm  sorry,  sir,"  the  conductor  demurred.  "  I'm  re 
sponsible  for  the  property  of  the  railroad  — " 

The  panic-stricken  men  backed  him  up. 

"What's  the  use?" 

"  The  battle's  lost!" 

215 


THE  VICTIM 


"  The  whole  army's  wiped  off  the  earth." 

"  There's  not  a  grease  spot  left !  " 

The  President  confronted  the  trembling  conductor: 

"  Will  you  move  your  train?  " 

"  I  can't  do  it,  sir  — " 

"  Will  you  lend  me  your  engine?  " 

The  conductor's  face  brightened. 

"  I  might  do  that." 

The  engine  was  detached  to  the  disgust  of  the  panic- 
stricken  men  and  the  cool-headed  engineer  nodded  to 
the  President,  pulled  his  lever  and  the  locomotive  shot 
out  of  the  station  and  in  five  minutes  Davis  alighted 
with  his  staff  near  the  battle  field.  By  the  guidance  of 
stragglers  they  found  headquarters. 

Adjutant  General  Jordan  sent  for  horses  and  volun 
teered  to  conduct  the  President  to  the  front. 

While  they  were  waiting  he  turned  to  Mr.  Davis  anx 
iously  : 

"  I  think  it  extremely  unwise,  sir,  for  you  to  take  this 
risk." 

The  thin  lips  smiled: 

"  I'll  take  the  responsibility,  General." 

The  President  and  his  staff  mounted  and  galloped 
toward  the  front. 

The  stragglers  came  now  in  droves.  They  were  gen 
erous  in  their  warnings. 

"  Say,  men,  do  ye  want  to  die  ?  " 

"  You're  ridin'  straight  inter  the  jaws  er  death." 

"Don't  do  it,  I  tell  ye!" 

The  President  began  to  rally  the  men.  As  they 
neared  the  front  he  was  recognized  and  the  wounded  be 
gan  to  cheer. 

A  big  strapping  soldier  was  carrying  a  slender 
wounded  boy  to  the  rear. 

The  boy  put  his  trembling  hand  on  the  man's  shoul 
der,  snatched  off  his  cap  and  shouted : 

216 


"  *  We  have  won,  sir! '  was  the  short,  curt  answer  " 


THE  FATAL  VICTOR? 


"  Three  cheers  for  the  President !  Look,  boys,  he's 
here  —  we'll  lick  'em  yet !  " 

The  President  lifted  his  hat  to  the  stripling,  crying: 

"  To  a  hero  of  the  South!  " 

The  storm  of  battle  was  now  rolling  swiftly  to  the 
west  —  its  roar  growing  fainter  with  each  cannon's 
throb. 

The  President,  sitting  his  horse  with  erect  tense  fig 
ure,  dashed  up  the  hill  to  General  Johnston : 

"  How  goes  the  battle,  General?  " 

"  We  have  won,  sir,"  was  the  sharp  curt  answer. 

The  President  wheeled  his  horse  and  rode  rapidly 
into  the  front  lines  until  stopped  by  the  captain  of  a 
command  of  cavalry. 

"  You  are  too  near  the  front,  sir,  without  an  es 
cort  — " 

The  President  rode  beside  the  captain  and  watched 
him  form  his  men  for  their  last  charge  on  the  enemy. 
He  inspected  the  field  with  growing  amazement.  For 
miles  the  earth  was  strewn  with  the  wreck  of  the  North 
ern  army  —  guns,  knapsacks,  blankets,  canteens  — 
and  Brooklyn-made  handcuffs ! 

Their  defeat  had  been  so  sudden,  so  complete,  so  over 
whelming,  it  was  impossible  at  first  to  grasp  its  mean 
ing. 

He  passed  the  rugged  figure  of  Jackson  who  had  won 
his  immortal  title  of  "  Stonewall."  An  aide  was  bind 
ing  a  cloth  about  his  wounded  arm. 

The  grim  General  pushed  aside  his  surgeon,  raised  his 
battered  cap  and  shouted: 

"  Hurrah  for  the  President !  Ten  thousand  fresh 
men  and  I  will  be  in  Washington  to-night !  " 

The  President  lifted  his  hat  and  congratulated  him. 

The  victory  of  the  South  was  complete  and  over 
whelming.  Jefferson  Davis  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief 
for  deliverance.  Within  two  hours  he  knew  that  this 

217 


THE  VICTIM 


victory  had  not  been  won  by  superior  generalship  of 
his  commanding  officers.  They  had  been  outwitted  at 
every  turn  and  overwhelmed  by  the  plan  of  battle  their 
wily  foe  had  forced  upon  them.  It  had  not  been  won 
by  the  superior  courage  of  his  men  in  the  battle  which 
raged  from  sunrise  until  four  o'clock.  The  broken  and 
disorganized  lines  of  the  South  and  the  panic-stricken 
mob  he  had  met  on  the  way  were  eloquent  witnesses  of 
Northern  valor. 

His  army  had  been  saved  from  annihilation  by  the 
quick  wit  and  daring  courage  of  a  single  Brigadier  Gen 
eral  who  had  moved  his  five  regiments  on  his  own  initi 
ative  in  the  nick  of  time  and  saved  the  Confederates 
from  utter  rout. 

Victory  had  been  snatched  at  last  from  the  jaws  of  de 
feat  by  an  accident.  The  misfortune  of  a  delayed  regi 
ment  of  Johnston's  army  was  suddenly  turned  into  an 
astounding  piece  of  luck.  The  sudden  charge  of  those 
two  thousand  men  on  the  flank  of  the  victorious  army 
had  produced  a  panic  among  tired  raw  recruits.  Mc 
Dowell  was  at  this  moment  master  of  the  field.  In  a 
moment  of  insane  madness  his  unseasoned  men  had 
thrown  down  their  guns  and  fled. 

The  little  dark  General  in  his  flower-decked  tent  had 
made  good  his  boasts.  And  worse  —  the  Northern 
army  had  proven  his  wildest  assertions  true.  They 
were  a  rabble.  The  star  of  Beauregard  rose  in  the 
Southern  sky,  and  with  its  rise  Disaster  stalked  grim 
and  silent  toward  the  hilarious  Confederacy. 

The  South  had  won  a  victory  destined  to  prove  itself 
the  most  fatal  calamity  that  ever  befell  a  nation. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
THE  AFTERMATH 

Socola  dismissed  his  hope  of  a  speedy  end  of  the  war 
and  devoted  himself  with  new  enthusiasm  to  his  work. 
His  eyes  were  sleepless  —  his  ear  to  the  ground.  The 
information  on  conditions  and  public  sentiment  in  Rich 
mond  and  the  South  which  he  had  dispatched  to  Wash 
ington  were  of  incalculable  service  to  his  government. 
One  of  the  immediate  effects  of  the  battle  was  the  return 
of  Jennie  Barton  to  the  Capital.  Her  mother  was  im 
proving  and  Jimmie  had  been  wounded.  Her  coming 
was  most  fortunate.  It  was  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  he  secure  a  position  in  the  Civil  Service  of  the  Con 
federacy.  It  could  be  done  through  her  father's  in 
fluence. 

Socola  watched  the  first  division  of  Northern  prison 
ers  march  through  the  streets  amid  the  shouts  and 
laughter  of  a  crowd  of  urchins  black  and  white.  A  feel 
ing  of  blind  rage  surged  within  him.  That  the  tables 
would  be  shortly  turned,  he  was  sure.  He  would  play 
his  part  now  without  a  scruple.  He  would  use  pretty 
Jennie  Barton  as  any  other  pawn  on  the  chessboard 
of  Life  and  Death  over  which  he  bent. 

Jefferson  Davis  watched  the  effects  of  the  battle  on 
the  North  with  breathless  interest  and  increasing  dis 
may. 

His  worst  fears  were  confirmed. 

He  had  hoped  that  a  decisive  victory  would  place  his 
Government  in  a  position  to  make  overtures  for  a  peace 
ful  adjustment  of  the  conflict. 

219 


THE  VICTIM 


The  victory  had  been  too  decisive.  The  disgraceful 
rout  of  the  Northern  army  had  stung  twenty-three  mil 
lion  people  to  the  quick.  Defeat  so  overwhelming  and 
surprising  had  roused  the  last  drop  of  fighting  blood  in 
their  veins. 

Boasting  and  loud  talk  suddenly  ceased.  There  was 
no  lying  about  the  results.  In  all  their  bald  hideous 
reality  the  Northern  mind  faced  them  and  began  with 
steady  purpose  their  vast  preparations  to  wipe  that  dis 
grace  out  in  blood. 

Abraham  Lincoln  suddenly  found  himself  relieved  of 
all  embarrassment  in  the  conduct  of  the  war.  His  crit 
ics  had  threatened  to  wreck  his  administration  unless  he 
forced  their  "  Grand  Army  "  to  march  on  Richmond 
and  take  it  without  a  day's  delay. 

In  obedience  to  this  idiotic  clamor  he  was  forced  to 
order  the  army  to  march.  They  came  home  by  a 
shorter  route  than  they  marched  and  they  came 
quicker. 

They  returned  without  baggage. 

Incompetent  men  and  hungry  demagogues  had  clam 
ored  for  high  positions  in  the  army.  Their  influence 
had  been  so  great  he  had  been  forced  to  find  berths  for 
many  incompetent  officers. 

He  had  suddenly  become  the  actual  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  and  his  word  was  law. 
Fools  and  incompetents  were  relegated  to  the  rear. 
Men  who  knew  how  to  fight  and  how  to  organize  armies 
marched  to  the  front. 

His  administration  had  been  embarrassed  for  funds. 
It  was  found  next  to  impossible  to  float  a  loan  of  a  pal 
try  seven  million  dollars  for  war  purposes.  He  bor 
rowed  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars  next  day  at 
a  fraction  above  the  legal  rate  of  interest  in  New  York. 
He  asked  Congress  for  400,000  more  men  and  $400,- 
000,000  to  support  them.  "Congress  voted  a  half  mil- 

220 


THE  AFTERMATH 


lion  men  and  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  —  a  hun 
dred  million  more  than  he  had  asked. 

While  Washington's  streets  were  thronged  with  the 
mud-smeared,  panic-stricken  rabble  that  was  once  an 
army,  the  Federal  Congress  eagerly  began  the  task  of 
repairing  the  disaster.  When  they  had  done  all  and 
much  more  than  their  President  had  asked,  they  calmly 
and  unanimously  passed  this  resolution: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  maintenance  of  the  Constitution, 
the  preservation  of  the  Union,  and  the  enforcement  of  the 
laws,  are  sacred  trusts  which  must  be  executed;  that  no 
disaster  shall  discourage  us  from  the  most  ample  perform 
ance  of  this  high  duty;  and  that  we  pledge  to  the  Country 
and  the  world  the  employment  of  every  resource,  national 
and  individual,  for  the  suppression,  overthrow  and  punish 
ment  of  rebels  in  arms." 

To  the  dismay  of  the  far-seeing  Southern  leader  in 
Richmond  the  press  and  people  of  the  South  received 
this  resolution  with  shouts  of  derision.  In  vain  did  he 
warn  his  own  Congress  that  the  North  was  multiplying 
its  armies,  and  building  two  navies  with  furious  energy. 

The  people  of  the  South  went  mad  over  their  amazing 
victory.  Davis  saw  their  deliverance  suddenly  develop 
into  the  most  appalling  disaster. 

The  decisive  battle  of  the  war  was  fought  and  won. 
The  European  powers  must  immediately  recognize  the 
new  Nation.  In  this  hope  their  President  could  reason 
ably  share.  Their  other  delusions  he  knew  to  be  mad 
ness. 

The  Southern  press  without  a  dissenting  voice  pro 
claimed  that  the  question  of  manhood  between  the  North 
and  South  was  settled  and  settled  forever.  From  the 
hustings  the  demagogue  shouted: 

"  One  Southerner  is  the  equal  anywhere  of  five  Yan 
kees." 

221 


THE  VICTIM 


Manassas,  with  its  insignificant  record  of  killed  and 
wounded,  was  compared  with  the  decisive  battles  of  the 
world.  The  war  was  over.  There  might  still  be  fought 
a  few  insignificant  skirmishes  before  peace  was  pro 
claimed  but  that  auspicious  event  could  not  be  long  de 
layed. 

The  fatal  victory  was  followed  by  a  period  of  fan 
cied  security  and  deadly  inactivity.  Exertions  ceased. 
Volunteers  were  few.  The  volatile,  sanguine  people 
laughed  at  the  fears  of  their  croaking  President. 

So  firmly  had  they  established  the  new  Nation  that 
politicians  began  to  plot  and  scheme  for  control  of  the 
Confederate  Government  on  the  expiration  of  the  Davis 
term  of  office. 

R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  the  foremost  statesman  of  Virginia, 
resigned  his  position  in  the  Cabinet  to  be  unembarrassed 
in  his  fight  for  the  presidency. 

Beauregard  had  been  promoted  to  the  full  rank  of 
general  and  his  tent  was  now  a  bower  of  roses.  Around 
the  figure  of  the  little  fiery,  impulsive,  boastful  South 
Carolinian  gathered  a  group  of  ambitious  schemers  who 
determined  to  make  him  President.  They  filled  the 
newspapers  with  such  fulsome  praise  that  the  popular 
nominee  for  an  honor  six  years  'in  the  distance,  and 
shrouded  in  the  smoke  of  battle,  sought  to  add  fuel  to 
the  flame  by  waving  the  Crown  aside !  In  a  weak  bom 
bastic  letter  which  deceived  no  one,  dated, 

"  Within  Hearing  of  the  Enemies'  Guns,"  he  emphat 
ically  declared: 

"  I  am  not  a  candidate,  nor  do  I  desire  to  be  a  candi 
date,  for  any  civil  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people  or  Ex 
ecutive  !  " 

Controversies  began  between  different  Southern 
States,  as  to  the  location  of  the  permanent  Capital  of 
the  Confederacy.  The  contest  developed  so  rapidly 
and  went  so  far,  that  the  Municipal  Council  of  the  City 


THE  AFTERMATH 


of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  voted  an  appropriation  of 
$750,000  for  a  residence  for  the  President  as  an  in 
ducement  to  remove  the  Capital. 

A  furious  controversy  broke  out  in  the  yellow  jour 
nals  of  the  South  as  to  why  the  Southern  army  had  not 
pursued  the  panic-stricken  mob  into  the  City  of  Wash 
ington,  captured  Lincoln  and  his  Congress  and  ended 
the  war  next  day  in  a  blaze  of  glory. 

It  was  inconceivable  that  it  was  the  fault  of  the  two 
heroes  of  the  battle,  Joseph  E.  Johnston  and  Peter  G. 
T.  Beauregard.  The  President  had  rushed  to  the  bat 
tlefield  for  some  purpose.  The  champions  of  the  heroes 
insinuated  that  his  purpose  was  not  to  prevent  their 
quarreling,  but  to  take  command  of  the  field  and  rob 
them  of  their  glory. 

They  made  haste  to  find  a  scapegoat  on  whose  shoul 
ders  to  lay  the  failure  to  pursue.  They  seized  on  Jef 
ferson  Davis  as  the  man.  They  declared  in  the  most 
positive  terms  that  Johnston  and  Beauregard,  flushed 
with  victory,  were  marshaling  their  hosts  to  sweep  into 
Washington  when  they  were  stopped  by  the  Confederate 
Chief  and  had  no  choice  but  to  bivouac  for  the  night. 

Three  men  alone  knew  the  truth:  Davis,  Beauregard 
and  Johnston.  The  two  victorious  generals  remained 
silent  while  their  friends  made  this  remarkable  accusa 
tion  against  the  President. 

The  President  remained  silent  to  save  his  generals 
from  the  wrath  of  a  fickle  public  which  might  end  their 
usefulness  to  the  country. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Davis'  trained  eye  had  seen  the 
enormous  advantage  of  quick  merciless  pursuit  the  mo 
ment  he  was  convinced  that  McDowell's  army  had  fled 
in  panic. 

He  had  finally  written  a  positive  order  commanding 
pursuit  but  was  persuaded  by  the  continued  pleas  of 
both  commanders  not  to  press  it. 

223 


THE  VICTIM 


The  reptile  press  of  the  South  began  on  the  President 
a  bitter,  malignant  and  unceasing  vilification  for  this, 
his  first  fatal  and  inexcusable  blunder! 

Defeat  had  freed  Abraham  Lincoln  of  fools  and  incom 
petents  and  armed  him  with  dictatorial  powers.  Vic 
tory  had  saddled  on  the  Confederacy  two  heroes  des 
tined  to  cripple  its  efficiency  with  interminable  contro 
versy,  sulking  bitterness  and  personal  ambitions.  The 
halo  of  supreme  military  genius  which  encircled  the 
brows  of  Johnston  and  Beauregard  with  the  lifting  of 
the  smoke  from  the  field  of  Bull  Run  grew  quickly  into 
two  storm  clouds  which  threatened  the  life  of  the  new 
Republic. 

Johnston's  contempt  for  Beauregard  had  from  the 
beginning  been  outspoken  to  his  intimate  friends.  The 
battle  had  raised  this  little  upstart  to  his  equal  in  rank ! 
He  claimed  that  the  President  had  robbed  him  of  his 
true  position  in  the  Southern  army  through  favoritism 
in  the  appointment  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  and  Rob 
ert  E.  Lee  to  positions  of  seniority,  to  which  they  were 
not  entitled. 

Johnston  began  a  series  of  bitter  insulting  letters  to 
the  Confederate  President,  complaining  of  his  injustice 
and  demanding  his  rights.  Not  content  with  his  letters 
to  the  Executive,  Johnston  poured  his  complaints  into 
the  ears  of  his  friends  and  admirers  in  the  Confederate 
Congress  and  began  a  systematic  and  determined  per 
sonal  campaign  to  discredit  and  ruin  the  administra 
tion. 

Among  his  first  recruits  in  his  campaign  against  Jef 
ferson  Davis  was  the  fiery,  original  Secessionist,  Roger 
Barton.  Barton  had  never  liked  Davis.  Their  temper 
aments  were  incompatible.  He  resigned  his  position  on 
the  staff  of  the  President,  allied  himself  openly  with 
Johnston  and  became  one  of  the  bitterest  and  most  un 
compromising  enemies  of  the  government.  His  position 

224 


THE  AFTERMATH 


in  the  Confederate  Senate  would  be  a  powerful  weapon 
with  which  to  strike. 

The  substance  of  Johnston's  claim  on  which  was 
founded  this  malignant  clique  in  Richmond  was  the 
merest  quibble  about  the  date  of  his  commission  to  the 
rank  of  full  general.  Because  its  date  was  later  than 
that  of  Robert  E.  Lee  he  felt  himself  insulted  and  de 
graded. 

When  the  President  mildly  and  good  naturedly  in 
formed  him  that  his  position  of  Quartermaster  General 
in  the  old  army  did  not  entitle  him  to  a  field  command 
and  that  Lee's  rank  as  field  commander  was  higher,  he 
replied  in  a  letter  which  became  the  text  of  his  cham 
pions.  Its  high-flown  language  and  bombastic  claims 
showed  only  too  plainly  that  a  consuming  ambition  had 
destro}red  all  sense  of  proportion  in  his  mind. 

With  uncontrolled  passion  he  wrote  to  the  President : 

"  Human  power  cannot  efface  the  past.  Congress  may 
vacate  my  commission  and  reduce  me  to  the  ranks.  It  can 
not  make  it  true  that  I  was  not  a  general  before  July  4, 
1861. 

"  The  effect  of  the  course  pursued  is  this : 

"  It  transforms  me  from  the  position  first  in  rank  to  that 
of  fourth.  The  relative  rank  of  the  others  among  them 
selves  (Cooper,  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  and  Robert  E. 
Lee)  is  unaltered.  It  is  plain  that  this  is  a  blow  aimed  at 
me  only.  It  reduces  my  rank  in  the  grade  I  hold.  This 
has  never  been  done  heretofore  in  the  regular  service  in 
America  but  by  the  sentence  of  a  court-martial  as  a  punish 
ment  and  as  a  disgrace  for  some  military  offense. 

"  It  seeks  to  tarnish  my  fair  name  as  a  soldier  and  as  a 
man,  earned  by  more  than  thirty  years  of  laborious  and 
perilous  service.  I  have  but  this  —  the  scars  of  many 
wounds  all  honestly  taken  in  my  front  and  in  the  front  of 
battle,  and  my  father's  revolutionary  sword.  It  was  de 
livered  to  me  from  his  venerable  hand  without  stain  of  dis 
honor.  Its  blade  is  still  unblemished  as  when  it  passed 
16  225 


THE  VICTIM 


from  his  hand  to  mine.  I  drew  it  in  the  war  not  for  rank 
or  fame  (sic!),  but  to  defend  the  sacred  soil,  the  homes  and 
hearths,  the  women  and  children,  aye,  and  the  men  of  my 
mother,  Virginia  —  my  native  South.  It  may  hereafter  be 
the  sword  of  a  general  leading  armies,  or  of  a  private  volun 
teer.  But  while  I  live  and  have  an  arm  to  wield  it,  it  shall 
never  be  sheathed  until  the  freedom,  independence,  and  full 
rights  of  the  South  are  achieved.  When  that  is  done,  it 
then  will  be  a  matter  of  small  concern  to  the  Government, 
to  Congress,  or  to  the  Country,  what  my  rank  or  lot  may  be. 

"  What  has  the  aspect  of  a  studied  indignity  is  offered 
me.  My  noble  associate  with  me  in  the  battle  has  his  pre 
ferment  connected  with  the  victory  won  by  our  common 
trials  and  dangers.  His  commission  bears  the  date  of  July 
21,  1861,  but  care  seems  to  be  taken  to  exclude  the  idea 
that  I  had  any  part  in  winning  that  triumph. 

"  My  commission  is  made  to  bear  such  a  date  that  my 
once  inferiors  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
Confederate  States  (Cooper,  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  and 
Robert  E.  Lee)  shall  be  above  me.  But  it  must  not  be 
dated  as  of  July  21,  nor  be  suggestive  of  the  victory  of  Ma- 
nassas ! 

"  If  the  action  against  which  I  have  protested  is  legal, 
it  is  not  for  me  to  question  the  expediency  of  degrading 
one  who  has  served  laboriously  from  the  commencement 
of  the  war  on  this  frontier,  and  borne  a  prominent  part  in 
the  only  great  event  of  that  war,  for  the  benefit  of  persons, 
•neither  of  whom  has  yet  struck  a  blow  for  this  Confederacy. 

"  These  views  and  the  freedom  with  which  they  are  pre 
sented  may  be  unusual,  so  likewise  is  the  occasion  which 
calls  them  forth. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  most  respectfully, 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  J.  E.  JOHNSTON,  General." 

With  a  curve  of  his  thin  lips  and  a  look  of  mortal 
weariness  on  his  haggard  face,  the  man  on  whose  shoul 
ders  rested  the  burden  of  the  lives  of  millions  of  his  peo 
ple  seized  his  pen  and  wrote  this  brief  note : 

226 


THE  AFTERMATH 


"  RICHMOND,  VA.,  September  14,  1861. 
"GENERAL  J.  E.  JOHNSTON: 
"Sm: 

"  I  have  just  received  and  read  your  letter  of  the  12 
instant.  Its  language  is,  as  you  say,  unusual;  its  argu 
ments  and  statements  utterly  one-sided,  and  its  insinuations 
as  unfounded  as  they  are  unbecoming. 

"  I  am,  etc., 

"  JEFFERSON  DAVIS. " 

While  the  Commander  of  the  victorious  Confederacy 
was  sulking  in  his  tent  on  the  field  of  Manassas,  playing 
this  pitiful  farce  about  the  date  of  a  commission,  and 
allowing  his  army  to  go  to  pieces,  George  B.  McClellan 
with  tireless  energy  and  matchless  genius  as  an  organizer 
was  whipping  into  shape  Lincoln's  new  levy  of  five  hun 
dred  thousand  determined  Northern  men. 

To  further  add  to  his  embarrassment  and  cripple  his 
work  the  Vice  President  of  the  Confederacy,  Alexander 
H.  Stephens,  developed  early  into  a  chronic  opponent 
of  the  administration.  Much  of  this  opposition  was  due 
to  dyspepsia  but  it  was  none  the  less  effective  in  under 
mining  the  influence  of  the  Executive.  Mr.  Stephens* 
theories  were  the  outgrowth  of  the  most  radical  appli 
cation  of  the  dogma  of  States'  Rights. 

Before  secession  he  had  bitterly  opposed  the  with 
drawal  of  Georgia  from  the  Union.  His  extreme  advo 
cacy  of  the  Sovereignty  of  the  States  now  threatened 
the  unity  and  integrity  of  the  Confederacy  as  a  Re 
public. 

He  proclaimed  the  remarkable  doctrine  that  as  the 
war  was  one  in  which  the  people  had  led  the  politicians 
into  a  struggle  for  their  rights,  therefore  the  people 
could  be  absolutely  relied  on  by  the  administrators  of 
the  Government  to  properly  conduct  the  war.  The  peo 
ple  could  always  be  depended  on  when  a  battle  was  to  be 
fought.  When  no  fighting  was  to  be  done  they  should 

227 


THE  VICTIM 


be  at  home  attending  to  their  families  and  their  busi 
ness.  The  people  were  intelligent.  They  were  patri 
otic.  And  they  were  as  good  judges  of  the  necessity  of 
their  presence  with  the  colors  as  the  commanders  of 
the  armies.  The  generals  were  professional  soldiers. 
They  fought  for  rank  and  pay  and  most  of  them  had 
no  property  in  the  South! 

In  the  face  of  such  doctrines  proclaimed  from  so  high 
a  source  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  thousands  of 
men  obtained  furloughs  on  long  leaves  of  absence.  In 
the  judgment  of  the  intelligent  and  patriotic  people  of 
the  South  the  war  was  practically  over.  Why  should 
they  swell  the  ranks  of  great  armies  to  augment  the 
power  of  military  lords  ? 

While  these  comfortable  doctrines  were  being  pro 
claimed  in  the  South,  the  North  was  drilling  five  hun 
dred  thousand  soldiers  who  had  enlisted  for  three  years. 

The  soreheads,  theorists,  and  chronic  kickers  now 
had  their  supreme  opportunity  t®  harass  the  Presi 
dent.  They  rallied  behind  the  sulking  General  and  his 
friends  and  established  a  vigilant  and  malignant  oppo 
sition  to  Jefferson  Davis  in  the  Confederate  Congress. 

They  centered  thgir  criticism  naturally  on  the  weak 
est  spot  in  the  new  Government  —  the  weakest  spot  in 
all  new  nations  —  its  financial  policy. 

They  demanded  the  immediate  purchase  of  all  the 
cotton  in  the  South  and  its  exportation  to  England  as 
a  basis  of  credit.  They  blithely  ignored  two  facts  — 
that  the  Government  had  no  money  with  which  to  pur 
chase  this  enormous  quantity  of  the  property  of  its  peo 
ple  and  the  still  more  important  fact  that  the  ports  of 
the  South  had  been  blockaded,  that  this  blockade  was 
becoming  more  and  more  effective  and  that  blockade- 
runners  could  not  be  found  with  sufficient  tonnage  to 
move  one-tenth  of  the  crop  if  they  were  willing  to  risk 
capture  and  confiscation. 

228 


THE  AFTERMATH 


If  the  President  could  have  met  the  members  of  his 
Congress  in  daily  social  intercourse  much  of  the  oppo 
sition  could  have  been  cleared  by  his  close  reasoning 
and  the  magnetism  of  his  powerful  personality.  But 
under  the  strain  of  his  official  life  his  health  forbade 
the  attempt  at  social  amenities. 

He  ceased  to  entertain  except  at  formal  receptions, 
gave  himself  body  and  soul  to  his  duties  as  President 
and  allowed  his  critics  full  swing  with  their  tongues. 

The  Richmond  Examiner  early  developed  into  the 
leader  of  the  reptile  press  of  the  South  which  sought 
by  all  means  fair  or  foul  to  break  down  and  destroy 
the  President.  This  sheet  was  made  the  organ  of  all 
the  bickering,  backbiting,  complaining  and  sulking  in 
the  army  and  the  civil  life  of  the  new  Republic. 

Because  the  President  could  not  spare  the  time  for 
social  entertainments,  he  was  soundly  abused  for  the 
stinginess  of  his  administration.  Because  the  young 
people  of  Richmond  could  not  be  received  at  the  White 
House  of  the  Confederacy  on  every  evening  in  the  week 
The  Examiner  sneered  at  the  assumption  of  "  superior 
dignity  by  the  satraps." 

This  scurrilous  newspaper  at  last  made  the  infamous 
charge  that  Davis  was  getting  rich  on  his  savings  from 
a  salary  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  in  Confederate 
money !  Every  politician  who  had  been  overlooked 
rushed  into  these  friendly  columns  and  aired  his  griev 
ances.  The  old  secession  leaders  who  had  been  thrust 
aside  for  the  presidency  by  the  people  who  had  forced 
the  office  on  Jefferson  Davis  now  pressed  forward  to 
put  their  knives  into  the  sensitive  soul  of  the  man  they 
envied.  Wm.  L.  Yancey,  Barnwell  Rhett  and  Robert 
Toombs  joined  his  foes  in  a  chorus  of  criticism  and 
abuse.  Every  man  who  had  been  slighted  in  high  po 
sitions  bestowed  on  rivals  rushed  now  to  the  attack. 

Davis  was  never  a  man  who  could  hedge  and  trim  and 
229 


THE  VICTIM 


lie  and  be  all  things  to  all  men.  He  was  totally  lack 
ing  in  the  patience  that  can  flatter  a  fool.  He  was  too 
sincere,  too  downright  in  his  honesty  for  such  dema- 
goguery. 

He  was  abused  for  a  thousand  things  for  which  he  was 
in  no  sense  responsible  and  made  no  effort  to  defend 
himself.  He  merely  took  refuge  in  dignified  silence. 
And  when  his  enemies  could  not  provoke  him  into  angry 
outbursts  they  accused  him  of  contempt  for  public  opin 
ion. 

In  this  hour  of  his  sore  trial  he  lacked  the  sense  of 
broad  humor  which  saved  Abraham  Lincoln.  His  rival 
in  Washington  was  abused  with  far  more  savage  cru 
elty —  but  it  always  reminded  him  of  a  funny  story. 
He  told  the  story,  roared  with  laughter  himself,  and 
turned  again  to  his  work. 

Not  so  with  Jefferson  Davis.  He  was  keenly  and 
painfully  sensitive  to  the  approval  or  condemnation  of 
the  people  about  him.  The  thoughtless  word  of  a  child 
could  cut  him  to  the  quick.  To  have  explained  many 
of  the  difficulties  on  which  he  was  attacked  would  have 
been  to  endanger  the  usefulness  of  one  of  his  generals 
or  expose  the  army  to  danger. 

He  steadfastly  remained  silent  and  accepted  as  in 
evitable  the  accusation  that  his  manner  was  cold  and 
repellent. 

But  once  did  his  soul  completely  break  down  under 
the  strain. 

An  officer  whom  he  loved  had  been  censured  by 
one  of  his  commanding  generals  who  demanded  his  re 
moval.  This  censure  was  conveyed  to  the  President  in 
a  letter  marked  "  Private." 

The  officer  was  removed.  Hard  as  the  duty  was,  he 
felt  that  as  the  servant  of  his  country  he  had  no  other 
choice. 

Flushed  and  indignant,  his  old  friend  called. 
230 


THE  AFTERMATH 


"  You  know  me,  Mr.  President,"  he  cried  passion 
ately.  "  How  can  I  ever  hold  my  head  up  again  under 
censure  from  you  —  one  of  my  oldest  and  best  friends?  " 

The  muscles  of  the  drawn  face  twitched  with  nervous 
agony.  He  could  not  with  his  high  sense  of  honor  as 
President  tell  this  man  that  he  loved  him  and  found  no 
fault  with  him.  To  make  his  acceptance  of  the  situa 
tion  easier,  his  only  course  was  to  rouse  his  friend's 
anger. 

He  turned  and  said  curtly: 

"  You  have,  I  believe,  received  your  orders.  I  can 
suggest  nothing  but  obedience." 

Too  angry  to  ask  an  explanation,  he  strode  from  the 
room  without  a  word. 

The  President  closed  his  desk,  climbed  the  steep  hill 
of  the  Capitol  Square,  walked  home  in  brooding  silence, 
and  locked  himself  in  his  room  without  eating  his  dinner. 

Alarmed  at  his  absence,  Mrs.  Davis  at  last  gently 
rapped  on  his  door.  With  tender  tact  she  drew  from 
his  reluctant  lips  the  story. 

Turning  his  dimmed  eyes  on  hers,  he  burst  out  in 
tones  of  quivering  anguish: 

"  Oh,  my  Winnie  dear,  how  could  any  man  with  a  soul 
write  a  letter  like  that,  mark  it  private  and  force  me  to 
plunge  a  knife  into  the  heart  of  my  best  friend  and  leave 
it  there  without  a  word  — " 

"  You  should  have  told  your  friend  the  whole  truth !  " 

"  No  —  he  could  have  made  trouble  in  the  army. 
His  commander  knew  that  I  could  bear  it  best." 

"  You  must  try  to  mingle  more  with  those  men,  dear," 
his  wife  pleaded.  "  Use  your  brains  and  personality  to 
win  them.  You  can  do  it." 

"  At  the  cost  of  precious  hours  I  can  give  to  better 
service  for  my  country.  No.  I've  given  my  life  to 
the  South.  I'll  eat  my  heart  out  in  silence  if  I  must  — " 

He  paused  and  looked  at  her  tenderly. 
231 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Only  your  friendly  eyes  shall  see,  my  dear.  After 
all,  what  does  it  matter  what  men  think  of  me  now?  If 
we  succeed,  we  shall  hear  no  more  of  malcontents.  If 
we  do  not  succeed,  I  shall  be  held  accountable  by  both 
friend  and  foe.  It's  written  so  in  the  book  of  life.  I 
must  accept  it.  I'll  just  do  my  best  and  God  will  give 
me  strength  to  bear  what  comes." 

And  so  while  the  South  was  gayly  celebrating  the  end 
of  the  war  and  every  crow  was  busy  pecking  at  the  sen 
sitive  heart  of  their  leader,  the  ominous  shadow  of  five 
hundred  thousand  Northern  soldiers,  armed  with  the 
best  weapons  and  drilled  by  the  masters  of  military  sci 
ence,  was  slowly  but  surely  drawing  near. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

SOCOLA'S  PROBLEM 

Socola  found  his  conquest  of  Jennie  beset  with  un 
foreseen  difficulties.  His  vanity  received  a  shock.  His 
success  with  girls  at  home  had  slightly  turned  his  head. 

His  mother  was  largely  responsible  for  his  conceit. 
She  honestly  believed  that  he  was  the  handsomest  man 
in  America.  For  more  than  six  years  —  in  fact,  since 
his  eighteenth  birthday  —  his  mother's  favorite  pet 
name  was  "  Handsome."  He  had  heard  this  repeated 
so  often  he  had  finally  accepted  it  philosophically  as  one 
of  the  fixed  phenomena  of  nature. 

From  the  moment  he  made  up  his  mind  to  win  Jennie 
he  considered  the  work  done  —  until  he  had  set  seriously 
about  it. 

The  first  difficulty  he  encountered  was  the  discovery 
that  a  large  number  of  Southern  boys  apparently  con 
sidered  the  chief  business  of  life  going  to  see  the  girls  — 
this  girl  in  particular. 

The  first  day  he  called  he  found  five  young  men 
who  had  lingered  beyond  their  appointed  hours  and 
were  encroaching  on  his  time  without  the  slightest 
desire  to  apologize.  He  could  see  that  she  was  trying 
to  get  rid  of  them  but  they  hung  on  with  a  dogged,  quiet 
persistence  that  was  annoying  beyond  measure. 

War  seemed  to  have  precipitated  an  epidemic  of  furi 
ous  love-making.  He  watched  Jennie  twist  these  en 
terprising  young  Southerners  around  her  slender  fingers 
with  an  ease  that  was  alarming.  They  were  fine-look 
ing,  wholesome  fellows,  too  —  a  little  given  to  boyish 

233 


THE  VICTIM 


boasting  of  military  prowess,  but  for  all  that  genu 
ine,  serious,  big-hearted  boys. 

The  matter-of-fact  way  in  which  she  ruled  them,  as  if 
she  were  a  queen  born  to  the  royal  purple  and  they  were 
so  many  lackeys,  was  something  new  under  the  sun. 

For  a  moment  the  thought  was  cheering.  Perhaps  it 
was  her  way  of  serving  notice  on  his  rivals  that  her  real 
interests  lay  in  another  direction.  But  the  disconcert 
ing  thing  about  it  was  that  it  seemed  to  be  a  habit  of 
mind. 

For  the  life  of  him  he  couldn't  make  out  her  real  at 
titude.  The  one  encouraging  feature  was  that  she  cer 
tainly  treated  him  with  more  seriousness  than  these 
home  boys.  It  might  be,  of  course,  because  she  thought 
him  a  foreigner.  And  yet  he  didn't  believe  it.  She  had 
a  way  of  looking  frankly  and  inquiringly  into  his  eyes 
with  a  deep,  serious  expression.  Such  a  look  could  not 
mean  idle  curiosity. 

And  yet  the  problem  he  could  not  solve  was  how  far 
he  dared  as  yet  to  presume  on  that  interest.  A  single 
false  step  might  imperil  his  enterprise.  His  plan  was 
of  double  importance  since  the  break  between  her  im 
pulsive  father  and  the  President  of  the  Confederacy. 
Barton  was  now  the  spokesman  for  the  Opposition. 
His  tongue  was  one  that  knew  no  restraint.  An  en 
gagement  with  his  daughter  might  mean  the  possession 
of  invaluable  secrets  of  the  Richmond  Government. 
Barton's  championship  of  the  quarrelsome  commanders, 
who,  in  the  first  flood  tide  of  their  popularity  as  the  he 
roes  of  Manassas,  gave  them  the  position  of  military 
dictators,  would  also  place  in  his  hands  information  of 
the  army  which  would  be  priceless.  The  Confederate 
Congress  sat  behind  closed  doors.  On  the  right  footing 
in  the  Barton  household  he  could  put  himself  in  pos 
session  of  every  scheme  of  the  Southern  law-makers 
from  the  moment  of  its  conception. 

234 


SOCOLA'S  PROBLEM 


The  trait  of  the  girl's  character  which  astounded  him 
was  the  sudden  merging  of  every  thought  in  the  cause 
of  the  South.  Even  the  time  she  spent  laughing  and 
flirting  with  those  soldier  boys  was  a  sort  of  holy  service 
she  was  rendering  to  her  country.  The  devotion  of 
these  Southern  women  to  the  Confederacy  was  remark 
able. 

It  had  already  become  an  obsession. 

From  the  moment  blood  had  begun  to  flow,  the  soul 
and  body  of  every  Southern  woman  was  laid  a  living 
offering  on  the  altar  of  her  country.  He  watched  this 
development  with  awe  and  admiration.  It  was  an  om 
inous  sign.  It  meant  a  reserve  power  in  the  South  on 
which  statesmen  had  not  counted.  It  might  set  at 
nought  the  weight  of  armies. 

The  moment  he  began  to  carefully  approach  the  in 
ner  citadel  of  the  girl's  heart  he  found  the  figure  of  a 
gray  soldier  clad  in  steel  on  guard.  What  he  said 
didn't  interest  her.  He  was  a  foreigner.  She  listened 
politely  and  attentively  but  her  real  thoughts  were  not 
there.  He  had  not  believed  it  possible  that  patriotism 
could  so  obsess  the  soul  of  a  beautiful  girl  of  nineteen. 
The  devotion  of  the  Southern  women,  young  and  old, 
to  the  cause  of  the  South  was  fast  developing  into  a 
mania. 

They  were  displaying  a  wisdom,  too,  which  Southern 
men  apparently  did  not  possess.  While  the  hot-headed, 
fiery  masters  of  men  were  busy  quarreling  with  one  an 
other,  criticising  and  crippling  the  administration  of 
their  Government,  the  women  were  supporting  the  Presi 
dent  with  a  unanimity  and  enthusiasm  that  was  amaz 
ing. 

Jennie  Barton  refused  to  listen  to  her  father's 
abuse. 

Socola  found  them  in  the  middle  of  a  family  quarrel 
on  the  subject  so  intense  he  could  not  help  hearing  the 

235 


THE  VICTIM 


conversation  from  the  adjoining  room  before  Jennie  en 
tered. 

"  The  President  hates  Johnston,  I  tell  you,"  stormed 
the  Senator.  "  He  doesn't  like  Beauregard  either. 
He's  jealous  of  him!  " 

"  Father  dear,  how  can  you  be  so  absurd !  "  the  girl 
protested.  "A  few  months  ago  Beauregard  was  a 
captain  of  artillery.  The  President  has  made  him  a 
general  of  equal  rank  with  Lee  and  Johnston  — " 

"  He's  doing  all  he  can  now  to  spite  him !  " 

"So  General  Beauregard  says  —  the  conceit  of  it! 
This  little  general  but  yesterday  a  captain  to  dare  to 
say  that  the  President  who  had  honored  him  with  such 
high  command  would  sacrifice  the  country  and  injure 
himself  just  to  spite  the  man  he  has  promoted!  " 

"  That  will  do,  Jennie,"  the  Senator  commanded. 
"  Women  don't  understand  politics !  " 

"  Thank  God  I  don't  understand  that  kind.  I  just 
know  enough  to  be  loyal  to  my  Chief,  when  our  life  and 
his  may  depend  on  it  — " 

With  a  stamp  of  his  heavy  foot  the  Senator  ended  the 
discussion  by  leaving  the  room. 

Jennie  smiled  sweetly  as  she  extended  her  hand  to  So- 
cola. 

"  I  hope  you  were  not  alarmed,  Signor.     We  never 

fight— » 

"  The  President  of  the  Confederacy  is  a  very  fortu 
nate  leader,  Miss  Jennie  — " 

"Why?" 

"  He  has  invincible  champions  — " 

The  girl  blushed. 

"  I'm  afraid  we  don't  know  much.  We  just  feel 
things." 

"  I  think  sometimes  we  only  know  that  way  — " 

He  paused  and  looked  at  her  hat  with  a  gesture  of 
dismay. 

236 


SOCOLA'S  PROBLEM 


"  You're  not  going  out?  " 

"  I  must,"  she  said  apologetically.  "  I've  bought  a 
whole  carriage  load  of  peaches  and  grapes.  I  went  to 
the  Alabama  hospital  yesterday  with  a  little  basket  full 
and  made  some  poor  fellows  glad.  They  gave  out  too 
quickly.  Those  who  got  none  looked  so  wistfully  at  me 
as  I  passed  out.  I  couldn't  sleep  last  night.  For 
hours  and  hours  their  deep-sunken  eyes  followed  and 
haunted  me  with  their  pleading.  And  so  I've  got  a 
whole  load  to  take  to-day.  You'll  go  with  me  —  won't 
you?" 

He  had  come  to  declare  his  love  and  make  this  beauti 
ful  girl  his  conquest.  She  was  ending  the  day  by  mak 
ing  him  her  lackey  and  errand  boy. 

It  couldn't  be  helped.  There  was  no  mistaking  the 
tones  of  her  voice.  She  would  certainly  go.  The  only 
way  to  be  with  her  was  to  dance  attendance  on  wounded 
Confederate  soldiers. 

It  was  all  in  the  day's  work.  Many  a  scout  engulfed 
in  the  ranks  of  his  enemy  must  charge  his  own  men  to 
save  his  life.  He  would  not  only  make  the  best  of  it, 
he  would  take  advantage  of  it  to  press  his  way  a  step 
closer  to  her  heart. 

"  Are  all  of  the  girls  of  the  South  like  you,  Miss  Jen 
nie?  "  he  asked  with  a  quizzical  smile. 

"  You  mean  insulting  to  their  fathers  ? "  she 
laughed. 

"  If  you  care  to  put  it  so  —  I  mean,  is  their  loyalty 
to  the  Confederacy  a  mania?  " 

"  Is  mine  a  mania?  " 

"  Perhaps  I  should  say  a  divine  passion  —  are  all 
your  Southern  women  thus  inspired?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  In  the  far  South  and  the  West?  " 

"  Everywhere ! " 

"  It's  wonderful." 

237 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Perhaps  because  we  can't  fight  we  try  to  make  up 
for  it." 

He  watched  her  keenly. 

"  It's  something  bigger  than  that.  Somehow  it's  a 
prophecy  to  me  of  a  new  future  —  a  new  world. 
Maybe  after  all  political  wisdom  shall  not  begin  and  end 
with  man." 

Jennie  blushed  again  under  the  admiring  gaze  with 
which  Socola  held  her. 

The  carriage  stopped  at  the  door  of  the  Alabama 
hospital.  Socola  leaped  to  the  ground  and  extended 
his  hand  for  Jennie's.  He  allowed  himself  the  slightest 
pressure  of  the  slender  fingers  as  he  lifted  her  out.  It 
was  his  right  in  just  that  moment  to  press  her  hand. 
He  put  the  slightest  bit  more  than  was  needed  to 
firmly  grasp  it,  and  the  blood  flamed  hotly  in  her 
cheeks. 

He  hastened  to  carry  her  baskets  and  boxes  of 
peaches  and  grapes  inside. 

For  an  hour  he  followed  her  with  faithful  dog  step  in 
her  ministry  of  love.  His  orderly  Northern  mind  shud 
dered  at  the  sight  of  the  confusion  incident  to  the  sud 
den  organization  of  this  hospital  work.  He  had  heard 
it  was  equally  bad  in  the  North.  Two  armed  mobs  had 
rushed  into  battle  with  scarcely  a  thought  of  what 
might  be  done  with  the  mangled  men  who  would  be  borne 
from  the  field. 

Jennie  bent  low  over  the  cot  of  a  dying  boy  from  her 
home  county.  He  clung  to  her  hand  piteously.  The 
waters  were  too  swift  and  deep  for  speech.  Before  she 
could  slip  her  hand  from  his  and  pass  on  the  man  on  the 
next  cot  died  in  convulsions. 

Socola  watched  his  agonized  face  with  a  strange  sense 
of  exaltation.  It  was  the  law  of  progress  —  this  way 
of  death  and  suffering.  The  voice  within  kept  repeat 
ing  the  one  big  faith  of  his  life : 

238 


SOCOLA'S  PROBLEM 


"  Not  one  drop  of  human  blood  shed  in  defense  of 
truth  and  right  is  ever  spilled  in  vain !  " 

Through  all  the  scenes  of  death  and  suffering  beauti 
ful  Southern  women  moved  with  soft  tread  and  eager 
hands. 

A  pretty  girl  of  sixteen,  with  wistful  blue  eyes,  ap 
proached  a  rough,  wounded  soldier.  She  carried  a 
towel  and  tin  basin  of  water. 

"  Can't  I  do  something  for  you?  "  she  asked  the  man 
in  gray. 

He  smiled  through  his  black  beard  into  her  sweet 
young  face : 

"  No'm,  I  reckon  not  — » 

"  Can't  I  wash  your  face  ?  "  the  girl  pleaded. 

The  wounded  man  softly  laughed. 

"  Waal,  hit's  been  washed  fourteen  times  to-day,  but 
I'll  stand  it  again,  if  you  say  so !  " 

The  girl  laughed  and  blushed  and  passed  quickly  on. 

When  all  the  grapes  and  peaches  had  been  distributed 
save  in  one  basket  Socola  looked  at  these  enquiringly. 

"  And  these,  Miss  Jennie  —  they're  the  finest  of  the 
lot?" 

The  girl  smiled  tenderly. 

"  They're  for  revenge  — " 

"Revenge?" 

"  Yes.  The  next  ward  is  full  of  Yankees.  I'm  going 
to  heap  coals  of  fire  on  their  heads  —  come  — " 

The  last  luscious  peach  and  bunch  of  grapes  had  been 
distributed  and  the  last  soldier  in  blue  had  murmured : 

"  God  bless  you,  Miss !  " 

Jennie  paused  at  the  door  and  waved  her  hand  in 
friendly  adieu  to  the  hungry,  homesick  eyes  that  still 
followed  her. 

She  brushed  a  tear  from  her  cheek  and  whispered : 

"  That's  for  my  Big  Brother.  I'll  tell  him  about  it 
some  day.  He's  still  in  the  Union  —  but  he's  mine !  " 

239 


THE  VICTIM 


She  drew  her  lace  handkerchief  from  her  belt,  dried 
her  tears  and  looked  up  with  a  laugh. 

"  I'm  not  so  loyal  after  all  —  am  I  ?  " 

"  No.  But  I've  seen  something  bigger  than  loyalty," 
he  breathed  softly,  "  something  divine  — " 

"  Come,"  said  the  girl  lightly.  "  I  wish  you  to  meet 
the  most  wonderful  woman  in  Richmond.  She's  in 
charge  of  this  hospital  — " 

Socola  laughed  skeptically. 

"  I've  already  seen  the  most  wonderful  woman  in 
Richmond,  Miss  Jennie  — " 

"  But  she  is  —  really  —  the  most  wonderful  woman  in 
all  the  South  —  I  think  in  the  world  —  Mrs.  Arthur 
Hopkins  — " 

"Really?" 

"  She  has  done  what  no  man  ever  has  anyhow  —  sold 
all  her  property  for  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  and 
given  it  to  the  Confederacy.  And  not  satisfied  with 
giving  all  she  had  —  she  gave  herself." 

Socola  followed  the  girl  in  silence  into  the  little  office 
of  the  hospital  and  found  himself  gasping  with  aston 
ishment  at  the  sight  of  the  delicate  woman  who  extended 
her  hand  in  friendly  greeting. 

She  was  so  perfect  an  image  of  his  own  mother  it  was 
uncanny  —  the  same  straight,  firm  mouth,  the  strong, 
intellectual  forehead  with  the  heavy,  straight-lined  eye 
brows,  the  waving  rich  brown  hair,  with  a  strand  of  sil 
ver  here  and  there — the  somber  dress  of  black,  the 
white  lace  collar  and  the  dainty  white  lace  cap  on  the 
back  of  her  beautiful  hair  —  it  took  his  breath. 

The  more  he  saw  of  these  Southern  people,  men  and 
women,  the  more  absurd  became  the  stuff  he  had  read 
so  often  about  the  Puritan  of  New  England  and  the 
Cavalier  of  the  South.  He  was  more  and  more  over 
whelmed  with  the  conviction  that  the  Americans  were 
one  people  racially  and  temperamentally.  The  only 

240 


SOCOLA'S  PROBLEM 


difference  on  earth  between  them  was  that  some  settled 
in  the  bleak  hills  and  rock-bound  coast  of  the  North 
and  others  in  the  sunlit  fields  and  along  the  shining 
shores  of  the  South. 

He  returned  with  Jennie  Barton  to  her  home  with  the 
deepening  conviction  that  he  was  making  no  progress. 
He  must  use  this  girl's  passionate  devotion  to  her  coun 
try  as  the  lever  by  which  to  break  into  her  heart  or  he 
would  fail. 

He  paused  on  the  doorstep  and  spoke  with  quick  de 
cision  : 

"  Miss  Jennie,  your  Southern  women  have  fired  my 
imagination.  I'm  going  to  resign  my  commission  with 
the  Sardinian  Ministry  and  enter  the  service  of  the 
South—" 

"You  mean  it?" 

"  I  was  never  in  more  deadly  earnest." 

He  looked  straight  into  her  brown  eyes  until  she  low 
ered  them. 

"  I  need  not  tell  you  that  you  have  been  my  inspira 
tion.  You  understand  that  without  my  saying  it." 

Before  Jennie  could  answer  he  had  turned  and  gone 
with  quick,  firm  step. 

She  watched  his  slender,  graceful  figure  with  a  new 
sense  of  exhilaration  and  tenderness. 


17 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  ANACONDA 

While  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  devoting  his 
energies  to  a  campaign  to  change  the  date  of  his  com 
mission  and  his  friends  organizing  their  opposition  to 
the  President  at  Richmond,  Gideon  Welles,  the  quiet, 
unassuming  Secretary  of  the  Navy  at  Washington,  was 
slowly  but  surely  drawing  the  mighty  coil,  the  United 
States  Navy,  about  the  throat  of  the  South.  He  made 
little  noise  but  the  work  he  did  was  destined  to  become 
the  determining  factor  of  the  war. 

The  first  blow  was  struck  at  North  Carolina. 

On  August  26,  1861,  at  one  o'clock  the  fleet  quietly 
put  to  sea  from  Fortress  Monroe.  On  Tuesday  they 
arrived  at  Hatteras  Inlet,  opened  fire  on  the  two  forts 
guarding  its  entrance  and  on  the  twenty-ninth  a  white 
flag  was  raised.  Seven  hundred  and  fifteen  prisoners 
were  surrendered,  one  thousand  stand  of  arms,  and 
thirty  pieces  of  cannon.  At  a  single  blow  the  whole 
vast  inland  water  coast  of  North  Carolina  on  her 
Sounds  was  opened  to  the  enemy  with  communications 
from  Norfolk,  Virginia,  to  Beaufort.  A  garrison  of  a 
thousand  men  could  hold  these  forts  for  all  time  with 
the  navy  in  command  of  the  sea. 

Burnside  followed  with  his  expedition  into  the  Sounds, 
captured  Roanoke  Island  and  the  fall  of  Newbern  was 
inevitable.  Every  river-mouth  and  inlet  of  the  entire 
coast  of  North  Carolina  was  now  in  the  hands  of  the 
Federal  Government  save  the  single  port  of  Wilming 
ton. 

242 


THE  ANACONDA 


The  moral  effect  of  this  blow  by  the  navy  was  tre 
mendous  in  the  North.  It  was  the  first  token  of  renewed 
power  since  the  defeat  at  Bull  Run.  The  navy  had  not 
only  turned  the  tide  of  defeat  in  the  imagination  of  the 
people,  the  achievement  was  one  of  vast  importance  to 
the  North  arid  the  most  sinister  import  to  the  South. 

The  Federal  Government  had  gained  the  first  impor 
tant  base  on  the  Southern  coast  for  her  blockading 
squadron  and  given  a  foothold  for  the  military  invasion 
of  North  Carolina. 

The  President  at  Richmond  was  compelled  to  watch 
this  tragedy  in  helpless  sorrow.  The  South  had  no 
navy  with  which  to  dispute  the  command  of  the  sea  and 
yet  she  had  three  thousand  miles  of  coast  line ! 

With  swift,  remorseless  sweep  the  navy  struck  Port 
Royal,  South  Carolina,  and  established  the  second  se 
cure  base  for  the  blockading  squadrons. 

The  Beaufort  district  of  South  Carolina  captured  by 
this  expedition  was  one  of  the  richest  and  most  thickly 
settled  of  the  State,  containing  fifteen  hundred  square 
miles.  It  produced  annually  fifty  million  pounds  of  rice 
and  fourteen  thousand  bales  of  cotton.  And  in  its 
population  were  thirty  thousand  slaves  suddenly 
brought  under  the  power  of  the  Federal  Government. 

The  coast  of  Florida  was  next  pierced.  The  block 
ade  of  the  enormous  coast  line  of  the  South  was  declared 
at  first  an  impossibility.  Within  less  than  a  year  the 
United  States  Navy  had  established  bases  within  strik 
ing  distance  of  every  port.  New  ships  were  being 
launched,  purchased  or  chartered  daily  and  the  giant 
Anaconda  was  slowly  winding  its  terrible  coil  about  the 
commerce  of  the  Confederacy. 

Jefferson  Davis  was  not  the  man  to  accept  this  om 
inous  situation  without  a  desperate  struggle.  The  man 
who  had  substituted  iron  gun  carriages  for  wood  in  the 
army  consulted  his  Secretary  of  the  Navy  on  the  possi- 

243 


THE  VICTIM 


bility  of  revolutionizing  the  naval  warfare  of  the  world 
by  the  construction  of  an  iron-clad  ship  of  first-class 
power.  In  his  report  to  the  Confederate  Naval  Com 
mittee,  Secretary  Mallory  had  developed  this  possibility 
two  months  before  the  subject  had  been  broached  in  the 
report  of  Gideon  Welles  in  Washington. 

"  I  regard  the  possession  of  an  iron-armored  ship," 
Mallory  urged,  "  as  a  matter  of  the  first  necessity. 
Such  a  vessel  at  this  time  could  traverse  the  entire  coast 
of  the  United  States,  prevent  all  blockade,  and  encoun 
ter  with  a  fine  prospect  of  success  their  entire  navy. 
Inequality  of  numbers  may  be  overcome  by  invulnerabil 
ity,  and  thus  not  only  does  economy  but  naval  success 
dictate  the  wisdom  and  expediency  of  fighting  with  iron 
against  wood,  without  regard  to  first  cost." 

The  President  of  the  Confederacy  gave  his  hearty  en 
dorsement  to  this  plan  —  and  summoned  the  genius  of 
the  South  to  the  task.  At  the  bottom  of  the  harbor  of 
Norfolk  lay  the  half-burned  hull  of  the  steam  frigate 
Merrimac  which  the  Government  had  set  on  fire  and 
sunk  on  destroying  the  Navy  Yard. 

The  Merrimac  was  raised.  A  board  was  appointed 
to  draw  plans  and  estimate  the  cost  of  the  conversion  of 
the  vessel  into  a  powerful,  floating,  iron-clad  battery. 
In  the  crippled  condition  of  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard  the 
task  was  tremendous  and  the  expense  would  be  great. 

The  President  ordered  the  work  prosecuted  with  the 
utmost  vigor.  Day  and  night  the  ring  of  hammers  on 
heavy  iron  echoed  over  the  quiet  harbor  of  Norfolk. 
Blacksmiths  were  forging  the  most  terrible  ship  of  war 
that  ever  sailed  the  seas.  If  the  hopes  of  her  builders 
should  be  realized,  the  navy  of  the  North  would  be 
swept  from  the  ocean  and  the  proudest  ships  of  the 
world  be  reduced  to  junk  in  a  day. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  GATHERING  CLOUDS 

Disaster  followed  disaster  for  the  South  now  in  swift 
succession.  The  United  States  Navy,  not  content  with 
the  supremacy  of  the  high  seas,  set  to  work  with  de 
termination  to  build  a  war  fleet  on  the  great  rivers 
of  the  West  which  could  pierce  the  heart  of  the  lower 
South. 

Before  the  South  could  possibly  secure  arms  and  am 
munition  with  which  to  equip  the  army  of  Albert  Sid 
ney  Johnston,  these  gunboats  were  steaming  down  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  bearing  thousands  of  troops 
armed,  drilled  and  led  by  stark,  game-fighting  generals 
from  the  West. 

By  the  end  of  November  the  Federal  troops  threaten 
ing  Tennessee  numbered  fifty  thousand  and  they  were 
rapidly  reenforced  until  they  aggregated  a  hundred 
thousand. 

General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  sent  the  most  urgent 
appeals  for  arms  to  the  Governors  of  Georgia  and  Ala 
bama,  to  General  Bragg  at  Pensacola  and  to  the  Gov 
ernment  at  Richmond.  He  asked  for  thirty  thousand 
muskets  and  got  but  one  thousand.  The  guns  were 
not  in  the  South.  They  could  not  be  manufactured. 
Fully  one-half  his  men  had  no  arms  at  all.  Whole  bri 
gades  remained  without  weapons  for  months.  The  en 
tire  force  at  his  command  never  numbered  more  than 
twenty-two  thousand  during  this  perilous  fall.  And 
yet,  by  the  masterly  handling  of  his  little  army,  its  fre- 

245 


THE  VICTIM 


quent  and  rapid  expeditions,  he  kept  his  powerful  oppo 
nents  in  constant  expectations  of  an  attack  and  pro 
duced  the  impression  that  he  commanded  an  enormous 
force. 

In  the  meantime  the  sensational  newspapers  were  loud 
in  their  demands. 

The  Richmond  yellow  Journal  shouted : 

"  Let  Johnston  muster  his  forces,  advance  into  Ken 
tucky,  capture  Louisville,  push  across  the  Ohio  and 
carry  the  war  into  Africa." 

Swift  and  terrible  the  blow  fell. 

And  always  the  navy's  smoke  on  the  horizon.  From 
the  Ohio,  the  Tennessee  and  Cumberland  rivers  could 
be  navigated  for  hundreds  of  miles  into  Tennessee  and 
Alabama.  But  two  forts  guarded  the  rivers  and  pro 
tected  these  States. 

Early  in  February,  1862,  the  gunboats  under  Ad 
miral  Foote  slowly  steamed  up  the  Tennessee  and  at 
tacked  Fort  Henry.  The  army  they  covered  was  com 
manded  by  General  Grant.  The  Federal  fleet  and 
army  hurled  twenty  thousand  men  and  fifty-four  can 
non  against  the  little  fort  of  eleven  guns.  With  but 
forty  men  General  Tilghman  fought  this  host  and  held 
them  at  bay  for  two  hours  and  ten  minutes,  until  the 
main  body  of  his  garrison  of  twenty-five  hundred  troops 
had  marched  out  and  were  safely  on  their  way  to  Fort 
Donelson,  twelve  miles  across  the  country  on  the  banks 
of  the  Cumberland.  Fort  Henry  was  of  small  impor 
tance.  Fort  Donelson  commanded  the  approach  to 
Nashville. 

There  was  not  a  moment's  delay.  Grant  telegraphed 
Halleck  that  he  would  capture  Fort  Donelson  two  days 
later.  Admiral  Foote  sent  three  light  gunboats  up  the 
Tennessee  to  clear  the  river  into  Alabama,  swept  down 
stream  with  his  heavier  craft  to  the  Ohio  and  turned 
into  the  Cumberland.  Grant  pressed  directly  across 

246 


THE  GATHERING  CLOUDS 

the  strip  of  twelve  miles  with  his  army  bearing  on  Fort 
Donelson. 

The  commander  at  Fort  Donelson  had  at  first  but  six 
thousand  men  including  the  garrison  from  Fort  Henry 
which  had  just  arrived.  Had  Grant  been  able  to  strike 
on  the  eighth  of  February,  the  day  he  had  wired  to  Hal- 
leek  he  would  capture  the  fort,  its  fall  would  have  been 
sure.  But  high  water  delayed  him,  and  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston  hastened  to  pour  in  reinforcements.  Ever}7 
available  soldier  at  his  command  was  rushed  to  the  res 
cue.  He  determined  to  fight  for  Nashville  at  Donelson. 
General  Buckner's  command  of  Kentuckians,  General 
Pillow's  Tennesseeans  and  General  Floyd's  brigade  of 
Virginia  troops  were  all  poured  into  the  fort  before  the 
thirteenth.  This  force,  approximating  twenty  thou 
sand  men,  properly  commanded  should  hold  Donelson 
indefinitely. 

The  fortification  was  magnificently  placed  on  a  bluff 
commanding  the  river  for  two  miles.  Its  batteries  con 
sisted  of  eight  thirty-two-pounders,  three  thirty- two- 
pound  carronades,  one  ten-inch  Columbiad  and  one 
thirty-two-pounder  rifle.  A  line  of  entrenchments 
stretched  for  two  miles  around  the  fort  enclosing 
it. 

Into  these  trenches  the  newly  arrived  troops  were 
thrown. 

Dick  Welford,  with  Floyd's  Virginians,  gripped  his 
musket  with  eager  enthusiasm  for  his  first  real  battle. 
His  separation  from  Jennie  had  been  a  bitter  trial.  In 
his  eagerness  to  get  to  the  front  he  had  the  misfortune 
to  serve  in  the  ill  fated  campaign  in  West  Virginia  which 
preceded  Bull  Run.  Beauregard  and  J.  E.  Johnston 
were  in  easy  touch  with  Richmond.  His  unlucky  bri 
gade  had  been  transferred  to  Albert  Sidney  Johnston's 
command. 

The  men  had  been  in  the  trenches  through  the  long 
247 


THE  VICTIM 


miserable  night  expecting  an  attack  at  any  moment. 

Half  waking,  half  dreaming,  he  lay  on  the  cold 
ground  wondering  what  Jennie  was  doing  —  and  al 
ways  with  the  nightmare  of  that  foreign  snake  winding 
his  way  into  her  favor.  Well,  his  chance  would  come 
in  this  battle.  He  would  lead  his  men  in  a  charge.  He 
was  a  corporal  now.  He  would  come  out  of  it  with 
straps  on  his  shoulders,  he  could  see  Jennie's  eyes  flash 
with  tears  of  pride  as  she  read  the  story  of  his  heroism 
and  his  promotion. 

"  I'll  show  that  reptile  what  a  man  can  do !  "  he  mut 
tered. 

The  tired  body  relaxed  and  his  big  blond  head  sank 
on  his  arms. 

A  sudden  crash  of  thunder  and  he  sprang  to  his  feet, 
his  hand  tight  on  his  gun.  There  they  were  in  the  gray 
light  of  the  chill  February  morning  —  the  fleet  of  Fed 
eral  gunboats  under  Foote,  their  big  black  funnels  pour 
ing  clouds  of  smoke  into  the  sky,  darkening  the  dull  red 
glow  of  the  rising  sun.  He  counted  six  of  them — - 
Carondalet,  Pittsburgh,  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  Tyler  and 
Conestoga. 

A  white  breath  of  smoke  flashed  from  the  Caronda- 
let's  bow,  and  Dick  watched  the  shell  rise  with  a  shriek 
and  fall  short  of  the  fort. 

The  fleet  moved  closer  and  another  shell  screamed 
through  the  sky  and  again  fell  short.  They  moved 
again,  found  the  range,  and  for  four  hours  the  earth 
trembled  beneath  the  steady  roar  of  their  forty-six 
guns. 

At  eleven  o'clock  Dick  saw  the  long  lines  of  men  in 
blue  deploy  for  an  assault  on  the  entrenchments.  They 
moved  with  quick  sure  step,  these  men  under  Grant. 
He  was  sorry  for  them.  They  were  marching  to  cer 
tain  death. 

On  the  blue  waves  rolled,  pouring  volley  after  volley 
248 


THE  GATHERING  CLOUDS 

into  the  heaps  of  earth  behind  which  the  Southerners 
lay. 

They  were  close  enough  now  and  the  quick  command 
rang  along  the  trenches. 

"Fire!" 

A  storm  of  death  swept  the  ranks  in  the  open  fields. 
They  stood  their  ground  stubbornly,  those  dogged 
western  fighters.  Dazed  and  cut  to  pieces,  they  rallied 
and  pressed  forward  again  only  to  be  mowed  down  in 
heaps. 

They  gave  it  up  at  last  and  sullenly  withdrew,  leav 
ing  the  dead  piled  high  and  the  wounded  slowly  freez 
ing  to  death  where  they  lay. 

The  artillery  kept  the  earth  quivering  with  the  steady 
roar  of  their  guns  and  the  Federal  sharpshooters  har 
assed  the  trenches  without  a  moment's  respite.  It 
was  impossible  to  move  for  food  or  water  until  nightfall. 

At  dawn  next  day  Dick  once  more  gripped  his  gun 
and  peered  over  the  embankment.  The  morning  passed 
without  attack.  What  could  it  mean?  They  saw  at 
last  —  another  fleet.  Clouds  of  black  smoke  on  the 
river  told  the  story.  Reinforcements  had  arrived. 

At  half-past  two  o'clock  the  fleet  formed  in  line  of 
battle  —  threw  their  big  flags  to  the  breeze  and  dashed 
squarely  on  the  fort. 

They  swept  now  within  point  blank  range  of  three 
hundred  yards,  pouring  in  a  storm  of  shot. 

But  the  Confederate  batteries  were  too  heavy  and 
too  well  manned.  Fifty-seven  shells  struck  the  flagship 
and  more  than  a  hundred  took  effect  on  the  five  boats 
leading  the  assault.  The  fleet  was  crushed  and  put 
out  of  commission.  Every  boat  was  disabled  except  one 
and  that  withdrew  beyond  the  range  of  the  batteries. 

Dick  watched  the  magnificent  spectacle  with  thrilling 
pride.  He  could  have  enjoyed  the  show  but  for  the 
bitter  cold.  It  was  twenty  degrees  below  the  freezing 

249 


THE  VICTIM 


point,  and  while  the  battle  raged  between  the  fleet  and 
fort  it  began  to  sleet  and  snow.  When  the  crippled 
boats  at  last  drifted  down  the  yellow  tide  and  out  of 
range,  he  found  to  his  amazement  that  a  thick  coat  of 
ice  had  formed  on  the  hand  in  which  he  held  his  musket. 
His  clothes  were  frozen  stiff  on  his  body. 

He  leaped  to  his  feet  and  beat  his  arms  fiercely,  and 
glanced  over  the  embankment  toward  those  ominous- 
looking  piles  of  blue.  The  sleet  was  sheathing  their 
bodies  in  crystal  shrouds  now.  No  flag  of  truce  was  al 
lowed  and  the  wounded  lay  freezing  and  dying  where 
they  fell.  He  could  hear  the  stronger  ones  still  crying 
for  help.  Their  long  piteous  moans  rang  above  the 
howl  of  the  wind  through  the  breaking  boughs  of  the 
trees. 

It  was  hideous.  Why  didn't  they  rescue  those  men? 
Why  didn't  they  proclaim  a  truce  to  bury  the  dead  and 
save  the  wounded?  Grant  must  be  a  fiend !  Far  off  on 
the  river  another  black  smudge  was  seen  in  the  sky. 
More  reinforcements  were  coming. 

The  three  Confederate  generals  suddenly  waked  with 
a  shock  to  realize  that  their  foe  had  landed  a  second 
army,  cutting  their  communications  with  Nashville. 

A  council  of  war  was  hastily  called  on  the  night  of 
the  fourteenth.  It  was  a  discordant  aggregation. 
Floyd,  the  former  Secretary  of  War  in  Buchanan's  ad 
ministration,  was  the  senior  officer  in  command.  He 
was  regarded  more  as  a  politician  than  a  soldier  and  his 
exploits  in  West  Virginia  had  not  added  to  his  fame. 
The  men  around  him  had  little  respect  for  his  capacity 
as  a  commander.  Besides  quarreling  had  become  the 
fashion  in  the  armies  of  the  victorious  South  since  the 
affair  at  Bull  Run.  The  example  of  Joseph  E.  John 
ston  and  Beauregard  was  contagious. 

There  was  but  one  thing  to  do.  The  wrangling  gen 
erals  were  unanimous  on  that  point.  They  must  make 

250 


THE  GATHERING  CLOUDS 

a  desperate  assault  next  morning  on  Grant's  right  wing 
and  reestablish  their  communications  witih  Nashville 
at  all  hazards. 

Under  cover  of  the  darkness  on  the  morning  of  the 
fifteenth,  the  men  were  marched  from  their  trenches  and 
massed  on  the  Federal  right.  But  a  handful  were  left 
to  guard  the  entrenchments  on  the  Confederate  right. 

At  the  first  streak  of  dawn,  the  concentrated  lines  of 
the  Confederates  were  hurled  on  the  division  of  Mc- 
Clernand.  Before  two  o'clock  Grant's  right  wing  had 
been  crushed  into  a  shapeless  mass  with  the  loss  of  his 
artillery.  The  way  was  open  to  Nashville  and  the  dis 
cordant  commanding  generals  of  the  Confederacy 
paused. 

Buckner  ordered  up  his  artillery  and  reserves  to  pur 
sue  the  enemy  or  hold  his  newly-won  position.  Pillow 
flatly  refused  to  allow  a  single  gun  to  be  withdrawn 
from  the  entrenchments  and  sent  peremptory  orders  to 
his  victorious  subordinate  to  return  to  the  trenches  on 
the  right. 

As  Buckner  was  reluctantly  returning  to  the  old  lines 
he  encountered  Floyd. 

"  Where  are  you  going?  "  the  Commander-in-chief 
demanded. 

"  I  am  ordered  back  to  the  entrenchments  — " 

"  You  think  it  wise  to  walk  back  into  the  trap  we've 
just  escaped  from?" 

"  I  do  not !  "  was  the  short  answer.  "  We  are  out 
numbered  three  to  one.  We  can  not  hold  our  connec 
tions  open  in  the  face  of  such  an  army  backed  by  gun 
boats  and  transports  which  can  bring  reinforcements 
daily.  The  road  is  open,  we  should  save  our  army  by 
an  immediate  juncture  with  Albert  Sidney  Johnston 
before  Nashville." 

"  I  agree  with  you,"  Floyd  replied.  "  Hold  your 
troops  until  I  consult  with  Pillow." 

251 


THE  VICTIM 


While  Floyd  and  Pillow  wrangled,  Grant  dashed  on 
the  scene.  He  had  not  been  present  during  the  battle. 
The  wounded  Commodore  had  begged  him  for  a  consul 
tation  on  board  his  flagship  five  miles  below. 

When  Grant  reached  the  field  he  met  a  sight  that 
should  have  dismayed  him  and  sent  his  shattered  army 
to  the  shelter  of  the  gunboats  and  a  hasty  retreat  down 
the  Cumberland  to  a  place  of  safety. 

McClernand  had  been  crushed  and  his  disorganized 
troops  thrown  back  in  confusion  in  front  of  the  en 
trenchments  of  the  Confederate  right.  His  troops 
had  been  on  the  field  for  five  days  and  five  nights 
drenched  in  snow,  sleet,  mud,  ice  and  water.  The 
field  was  strewn  with  the  dead  and  wounded.  Great 
red  splotches  of  frozen  blood  marked  the  ground  in  all 
directions.  Beneath  the  sheltering  pines  where  the 
white,  smooth  snow  lay  unbroken  by  the  tramp  of  heavy 
feet  and  the  crush  of  artillery,  crimson  streams  could 
be  seen  everywhere.  For  two  miles  the  ground  was  cov 
ered  with  the  mangled  dead,  dying,  and  freezing. 
Smashed  artillery  and  dead  horses  lay  in  heaps.  In  the 
retreat  the  heavy  wheels  of  the  artillery  had  rolled  over 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  and  wounded,  crushing  and  man 
gling  many  beyond  recognition. 

No  general  ever  gazed  upon  a  more  ghastly  scene 
than  that  which  greeted  the  eye  of  U.  S.  Grant  in  this 
moment  of  his  life's  supreme  crisis.  The  suffering  of 
his  wounded  who  had  fought  with  the  desperation  of 
madness  to  save  themselves  from  the  cold,  had  left 
its  mark  on  their  stark,  white  faces.  The  ice  had 
pressed  a  death  mask  on  the  convulsed  features  and 
held  them  in  the  moment  of  agony.  They  looked  up 
into  his  face  now,  the  shining  eyes,  gaping  mouths, 
cienched  fists  and  crooked  twisted  limbs. 

McClernand's  raw  troops  retreating  over  this  field  of 
horrors  were  largely  beyond  control.  Grant  knew  the 

252 


THE  GATHERING  CLOUDS 

enemy  had  been  reenforced.  He  could  reasonably  as 
sume  from  the  evidence  before  him  of  the  terrific  slaugh 
ter  in  the  open  field  that  his  own  army  was  in  peril. 
The  transports  were  in  sight  ready  to  move  his  army  to 
a  place  of  safety  where  he  might  re-form  his  broken 
ranks. 

His  decision  was  instantaneous  and  thoroughly  char 
acteristic.  He  turned  to  C.  F.  Smith  in  command  of 
his  left  wing  whose  division  had  been  but  slightly  en 
gaged. 

"  General  Smith,  the  enemy  does  not  follow  up  their 
advantage.  They  are  probably  in  a  worse  condition 
than  I  am.  Mass  your  men  and  charge  their  entrench 
ments  on  the  right  —  never  let  up  for  a  minute  —  drive 
—  drive  —  drive  them !  " 

The  charging  hosts  swept  the  thin  lines  of  the  half 
abandoned  trenches  with  the  fury  of  a  cyclone.  The 
Confederate  right  was  broken  and  rolled  back  in  con 
fusion,  fresh  troops  were  rushed  from  the  Federal  re 
serves  and  a  new  cordon  of  death  thrown  round  the 
fort. 

On  the  night  of  this  fatal  fifteenth  of  February  Dick 
Welford  was  detailed  for  guard  duty  at  the  door  of  Gen 
eral  Floyd's  tent.  He  heard  their  council  of  war  with 
sinking  heart. 

General  Pillow  favored  a  second  desperate  assault 
on  the  enemies'  right  to  re-open  the  way  to  Nash 
ville. 

Buckner  faced  him  with  rage : 

"  It  was  possible  to-day,  sir,  and  we  did  it.  Now  the 
enemy  has  been  reenforced  for  the  third  time.  If  you 
had  sent  my  guns  as  I  ordered  the  way  would  still  be 
open  — " 

"  We  can  yet  cut  our  way  out,"  Pillow  growled. 

"  Yes,  with  the  sacrifice  of  three  fourths  of  our 
brave  men  to  save  one  fourth.  I'll  not  be  a  party  to 

253 


THE  VICTIM 


such  butchery.  We're  caught  now  in  a  death  trap. 
The  only  rational  thing  to  do  is  to  surrender." 

Floyd  rose  nervously. 

"  I'm  not  going  to  surrender,  gentlemen.  The  North 
has  accused  me  of  treachery  in  Buchanan's  Cabinet.  I 
couldn't  expect  decent  treatment  from  them.  A  steamer 
with  recruits  has  just  arrived  from  Nashville.  I  shall 
make  my  escape  on  it  with  as  many  men  as  can  be  car 
ried." 

u  And  I'll  accompany  you,"  Pillow  declared. 

"  Go  if  you  like,  gentlemen,"  Buckner  replied.  "  I'll 
stand  by  my  men  and  share  their  fate." 

Floyd  and  Pillow  hastily  began  their  preparations 
to  go. 

Buckner  quietly  asked: 

"  Am  I  to  consider  the  command  turned  over  to  me  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  Floyd  answered.  "  I  turn  over  the 
command." 

"  I  pass  it,  too,"  Pillow  quickly  added. 

General  Buckner  called  for  pen,  ink  and  paper  and 
dispatched  a  courier  immediately  to  General  Grant. 
The  reply  was  in  two  words: 

"  Unconditional  surrender." 

Pillow  crossed  the  river  under  cover  of  the  night  and 
made  his  way  into  the  country. 

Floyd  offered  to  take  Dick  Welford  on  board  the  lit 
tle  steamer. 

"  No,  thank  you,"  the  young  Virginian  answered 
curtly. 

"  You  prefer  to  surrender?  " 

"  I'm  not  going  to  surrender.  I'm  going  to  join  Col. 
Forrest's  cavalry  and  fight  my  way  out." 

With  a  wave  of  his  arm  Floyd  hurried  on  board  the 
steamer  and  fled  to  Nashville. 

Dick  had  seen  Forrest  lead  one  of  his  matchless 
charges  of  cavalry  in  their  fight  that  day.  With  a 

254 


THE  GATHERING  CLOUDS 

handful  of  men  he  had  cut  his  way  through  a  solid  mass 
of  struggling  infantry  and  thrown  them  into  confusion. 

He  had  watched  this  grave,  silent,  unobtrusive  man 
of  humble  birth  and  little  education  with  the  keenest  in 
terest.  He  felt  instinctively  that  he  was  a  man  of 
genius.  From  to-day  he  knew  that  as  a  leader  of  cav 
alry  he  had  few  equals.  He  had  pointed  out  to  his  su 
periors  in  their  council  of  war  a  possible  path  of  escape 
by  a  road  partially  overflowed  along  the  river  banks. 
It  was  judged  impracticable. 

In  the  darkness  of  the  freezing  night  Dick  rode  be 
hind  his  silent  new  commander  along  this  road  with  per 
fect  faith.  Forrest  threw  his  command  into  Nashville 
and  saved  the  city  from  anarchy  when  the  dreaded  news 
of  the  fall  of  Donelson  precipitated  a  panic. 

The  South  had  met  her  first  crushing  defeat  —  a  de 
feat  more  disastrous  than  the  North  had  suffered  at 
Bull  Run.  Grant  had  lost  three  thousand  men  but  the 
Confederate  garrisons  had  been  practically  wiped  out 
with  the  loss  of  more  than  fifteen  thousand  muskets, 
every  big  gun  and  thirteen  thousand  prisoners  of  war. 

When  Grant  met  Buckner,  the  victor  and  vanquished 
quietly  shook  hands.  They  had  been  friends  at  West 
Point. 

"  Why  didn't  you  attack  me  on  Friday?  "  the  North 
erner  asked. 

"  I  was  not  in  command." 

"  If  you  had,  my  reinforcements  could  not  possibly 
have  reached  me  in  time." 

Buckner  smiled  grimly. 

"  In  other  words  a  little  more  promptness  on  one 
side,  a  little  less  resolute  decision  on  the  other  —  and 
the  tables  would  have  been  turned !  " 

"  That's  just  it,"  was  the  short  answer. 

It  was  an  ominous  day  for  the  South.  Bigger  than 
the  loss  of  the  capital  of  Tennessee  which  Johnston 

255 


THE  VICTIM 


evacuated  the  next  day,  bigger  than  the  loss  of  fifteen 
thousand  men  and  their  guns  loomed  the  figure  of  a  new 
Federal  commander.  Out  of  the  mud,  and  slush,  ice 
and  frozen  pools  of  blood  —  out  of  the  storm  cloud  of 
sleet  and  snow  and  black  palls  of  smoke  emerged  the 
stolid,  bull-dog  face  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant.  Lincoln 
made  him  a  major  general. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

JENNIE'S  RECRUIT 

Socola  lost  no  time  in  applying  for  a  position.  The 
one  place  of  all  others  he  wished  was  a  berth  in  the  War 
Department.  It  was  useless  to  try  for  it.  No  for 
eigner  had  ever  been  admitted  to  any  position  of  trust 
in  this  wing  of  the  Confederate  Government. 

He  would  try  for  a  position  in  the  Department  of 
State.  His  supposed  experience  in  the  Diplomatic 
Service  and  his  mastery  of  two  languages  besides  the 
English  would  be  in  his  favor.  The  struggle  for  rec 
ognition  from  the  powers  of  Europe  was  the  card  he 
could  play.  Once  placed  in  the  Department  of  State 
he  would  make  the  acquaintance  of  every  clerk  and  sub 
ordinate  who  possessed  a  secret  of  the  slightest  value  to 
his  cause. 

He  wished  to  enter  the  Department  of  State  for  an 
other  reason.  He  had  learned  from  absolutely  reliable 
sources  that  Judah  P.  Benjamin,  the  present  Secretary 
of  War,  was  slated  for  Secretary  of  State  in  the  new 
Cabinet  which  would  be  named  when  Jefferson  Davis 
was  inaugurated  as  permanent  President.  He  knew 
Benjamin  to  be  the  ablest  man  in  the  Cabinet,  the  one 
man  on  whose  judgment  Davis  leaned  with  greatest 
confidence.  It  would  be  of  immense  value  to  his  cause 
to  be  in  daily  touch  with  this  man. 

Fortunately  he  had  mastered  shorthand  the  last  year 
of  his  stay  in  Washington.     This  accomplishment,  rare 
in   the  South,  would  be  an  additional  argument  with 
which  to  secure  his  appointment. 
18  257 


THE  VICTIM 


Jennie  had  promised  to  accompany  him  to  the  office 
of  the  President  and  add  her  voice  to  his  plea.  She  had 
quite  won  the  heart  of  the  badgered  chieftain  of  the 
Confederacy  by  her  steady  loyalty  to  his  administra 
tion.  The  malignant  opposition  of  Senator  Barton 
was  notorious.  This  opposition  at  the  moment  had  be 
come  peculiarly  vindictive  and  embarrassing.  The  fall 
of  Fort  Donelson  and  the  loss  of  Nashville  had  precip 
itated  a  storm  of  hostile  criticism.  The  fierce  junta 
of  malcontents  in  the  Confederate  Congress  were  eager 
to  seize  on  any  excuse  to  attack  the  President.  They 
were  now  demanding  the  removal  of  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston  from  his  command.  Davis  knew  that  his  com 
manding  general  in  Tennessee  was  the  greatest  soldier 
of  his  time  —  and  that  all  he  needed  was  a  single  oppor 
tunity  to  demonstrate  his  genius.  He  refused  with 
scorn  to  sacrifice  such  a  man  to  public  clamor.  At  the 
White  House  reception  the  night  before  he  had  heard 
Jennie  Barton  stoutly  defending  him  against  his  ac 
cusers  who  demanded  the  head  of  General  Johnston. 

He  had  passed  her  later  in  the  evening,  pressed  her 
hand  and  whispered : 

"  If  our  men  were  only  as  loyal !  Ask  anything  you 
will  of  me  —  to  the  half  of  my  kingdom." 

Jennie  wished  to  put  this  impulsive  promise  to  the 
test.  She  would  see  that  Socola  secured  his  appoint 
ment.  This  brilliant  young  recruit  for  the  South  was 
her  gift  to  her  country  and  she  was  proud  of  him.  It 
had  all  come  about  too  quickly  for  her  to  analyze  her 
feelings.  She  only  realized  that  she  felt  a  sense  of  ten 
der  proprietary  interest  in  him.  That  he  could  render 
valuable  service  she  did  not  doubt  for  a  moment. 

She  had  told  him  to  meet  her  at  the  statue  of  Wash 
ington  in  the  Capitol  Square.  They  would  wait  there 
for  the  appearance  of  the  President  and  follow  him. 
His  habits  were  simple  and  democratic.  He  walked 

258 


JENNIE'S  RECRUIT 


daily  from  the  Confederate  White  House  to  the  Capitol 
grounds,  crossed  the  Square  and  at  the  foot  of  the  hill 
entered  his  office  in  the  Custom  House  on  Main  Street, 
unaccompanied  by  an  escort  of  any  kind. 

Anybody  on  earth  could  approach  and  speak  to  him. 
The  humbler  the  man  or  woman,  the  easier  the  ap 
proach  was  always  made. 

Socola  was  waiting  at  the  big  group  of  statuary 
contemplating  the  lines  of  its  fine  workmanship  with 
curious  interest. 

Jennie  startled  him  from  a  reverie : 

"You  like  him?" 

The  white  teeth  gleamed  in  pleasant  surprise. 

"The  father  of  his  country?  —  Yes  —  I  like  him. 
It's  going  to  be  my  country,  too,  you  know." 

They  strolled  through  the  grounds  and  watched  the 
squirrels  leap  from  the  limbs  of  a  great  tree  to  the 
swaying  boughs  of  the  next. 

A  tall  awkward  trooper  on  whose  hat  was  the  sign 
of  a  North  Carolina  regiment  toiled  painfully  up  the  hill 
slightly  under  the  influence  of  whisky.  Socola  saw  that 
he  was  navigating  the  steep  with  difficulty  and  turned 
into  a  by-path  to  give  him  a  free  passage.  It  was  never 
pleasant  to  meet  a  man  under  the  influence  of  liquor  in 
the  presence  of  ladies. 

They  had  taken  but  a  few  steps  along  the  little  path 
when  the  quick  firm  military  tread  of  the  President 
was  heard. 

They  turned  just  in  time  to  see  him  encounter  the 
toiling  trooper  from  North  Carolina. 

The  soldier's  jaw  suddenly  dropped  and  his  eyes  kin 
dled  with  joy.  He  stood  squarely  in  the  President's 
way  and  laughed  good  naturedly. 

"Say  — Mister!" 

"Well,  sir?" 

"  Say  —  now  —  ain't  yo'  name  JefPson  Davis  ?  " 
~ 


THE  VICTIM 


The  President  nodded  in  a  friendly  way. 

"  It  is." 

"  I  knowed  it,"  the  trooper  laughed.  "  By  Gum,  I 
knowed  it,  the  minute  I  laid  my  eyes  on  ye  — " 

He  moved  closer  with  insinuating  joy. 

"  I  bet  ye  could  never  guess  how  I  knowed  it  — 
could  ye?  " 

"  Hardly  — " 

"Ye  want  me  ter  tell  ye?"  The  trooper  laughed 
again.  "  I  knowed  ye  the  very  minute  I  seed  ye  — 
'cause  ye  look  thez  ezactly  like  a  Confederate  postage 
stamp !  I  know  'em  'cause  I've  licked  'em !  " 

The  President  laughed  and  passed  on  his  way  without 
looking  back. 

They  found  a  crowd  of  cranks  and  inventors  waiting 
to  see  him.  He  had  the  same  weakness  as  Abraham 
Lincoln  for  this  class  of  men.  He  never  allowed  a  clerk 
to  turn  one  way  without  his  personal  attention.  His 
interest  in  all  scientific  problems  was  keen,  and  he  had 
always  maintained  the  open  mind  of  youth  to  all  inven 
tions. 

Socola  and  Jennie  strolled  through  the  city  for  an 
hour  until  the  crank  levee  was  over.  The  President's 
secretary,  Burton  Harrison,  promised  them  an  interview 
at  the  end  of  that  time.  He  ushered  them  into  the  room 
under  the  impression  that  all  the  callers  had  gone.  He 
had  overlooked  a  modest,  timid  youth  who  had  quietly 
approached  the  Chief  Executive's  desk. 

They  paused  until  he  was  at  leisure.  The  moment 
was  one  of  illumination  for  Socola.  He  saw  a  trait  of 
character  in  the  Southern  leader  whose  existence  he 
had  not  suspected. 

"  My  name  is  Ashe  —  Mr.  President,  S.  A.  Ashe," 
the  youth  began. 

Davis  bowed  gravely. 

"  Have  a  seat,  sir." 

360 


JENNIE'S  RECRUIT 


The  boy  sat  down  and  twiddled  his  cap  nervously. 

"  I've  come  to  ask  an  appointment  of  some  kind  in  the 
regular  army  of  the  Confederacy.  I'm  an  officer  of 
the  North  Carolina  militia.  I  wish  to  enter  the  regular 
army." 

The  Confederate  chieftain  looked  at  the  peculiarly 
youthful,  beardless  face.  He  couldn't  be  more  than 
eighteen  from  appearances. 

"  I'm  afraid  you're  too  young,  sir,"  he  said  slowly, 
shaking  his  head. 

The  boy  drew  himself  up  with  a  touch  of  wounded 
pride. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Davis,  I  voted  for  you  for  President  last 
November." 

Instantly  the  Chief  Executive  rose,  blushing  his  apol 
ogy.  He  laid  his  hand  on  the  boy's  shoulder  and  spoke 
with  the  utmost  deference. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir.  I  should  have  been  more 
observant  and  thoughtful.  I  was  very  much  like  you 
when  I  was  a  boy.  It  was  a  long  time  before  I  had  any 
whiskers  myself." 

With  a  friendly  smile  he  touched  his  thin  beard. 

He  sent  the  young  man  away  happy  with  his  promise 
of  consideration.  That  he  should  have  asked  this 
beardless  boy's  pardon  in  so  pointed  a  manner  Socola 
thought  remarkable.  That  the  Chief  Executive  of 
nine  million  people  should  blush  suddenly  over  such  a 
trifle  was  the  flash  that  revealed  a  great  soul. 

The  President  advanced  and  gave  Jennie  both  his 
hands  in  cordial  greeting. 

"  I've  brought  you  a  recruit,  sir,"  the  girl  cried  with 
a  merry  laugh. 

"Indeed?" 

"  I  have  resigned  my  commission  with  the  Sardinian 
Ministry,  Mr.  President,  and  wish  to  offer  my  services  to 
the  South." 

261 


THE  VICTIM 


"  We  need  every  true  friend  the  world  can  send  us, 
Signer  —  I  thank  you  — " 

"  I  wish,  sir,"  Socola  hastened  to  say,  "  to  render  the 
most  efficient  service  possible.  I  have  no  training  as  a 
soldier.  I  have  experience  as  a  diplomat.  I  speak 
three  languages  and  I  am  an  expert  stenographer  — " 

"  I'm  sorry,  Signor,"  the  President  interrupted, 
"  that  I  have  no  vacancy  in  my  office  —  or  I  should  be 
pleased  to  have  you  here." 

"  Perhaps  your  State  Department  may  find  me  use 
ful?" 

"  No  doubt  they  can.  I'll  give  you  a  letter  to  the 
Secretary  recommending  your  appointment." 

He  seated  himself  at  once,  wrote  the  letter  and  handed 
it  to  Socola. 

Jennie  thanked  him  and,  with  a  warm  pressure  of  his 
hand,  passed  into  the  hall  with  Socola. 

At  the  outer  door  Burton  Harrison  overtook  them : 

"  Just  a  moment,  Miss  Barton.  The  President 
wishes  to  ask  you  a  question." 

Davis  drew  her  to  the  window. 

"  I  should  have  been  more  careful  of  the  credentials 
of  our  friend  perhaps,  Miss  Jennie.  You  can  vouch 
for  his  loyalty?  " 

"  Absolutely." 

She  had  scarcely  uttered  the  word  in  tones  of  positive 
conviction  before  she  realized  the  startling  fact  that  she 
had  spoken  under  the  impulse  of  some  strange  intuition 
and  not  from  her  knowledge  of  the  man's  character  and 
history. 

In  spite  of  her  effort  at  self-control  she  blushed  furi 
ously.  Mr.  Davis  apparently  did  not  observe  it. 

"  I  have  been  much  impressed  with  his  poise  and  cul 
ture  and  intelligence.  You  met  him  in  Washington, 
of  course?  " 

«  Yes  — " 

262 


JENNIE'S  RECRUIT 


"  You  know  positively  that  he  was  the  Secretary  of 
the  Sardinian  Minister?  " 

"Positively,  Mr.  President — " 

"  Thank  you,  my  dear.     I'll  take  your  word  for  it." 

Jennie  walked  home  on  air.  She  had  made  history. 
How  tragic  its  sequel  was  destined  to  be,  a  kind  Provi 
dence  concealed. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  FATAL  BLUNDER 

On  February  22,  1862,  Jefferson  Davis  committed 
the  one  irretrievable  mistake  of  his  administration. 
He  consented  to  his  inauguration  as  permanent  Presi 
dent  of  the  Confederacy  under  the  strict  forms  of  Con 
stitutional  law. 

The  South  was  entering  the  shadows  of  the  darkest 
hour  of  her  new  life.  A  military  dictator  clothed  with 
autocratic  power  could  have  subdued  the  discordant 
elements  and  marshaled  the  resources  of  the  country  to 
meet  the  crisis.  A  constitutional  President  would  bind 
himself  hand  and  foot  with  legal  forms.  A  military  dic 
tator  might  ride  to  victory  and  carry  his  country  with 
him. 

His  two  Commanding  Generals  had  allowed  the  vic 
torious  army  of  Manassas  to  drift  into  a  rabble  while 
they  wrangled  for  position,  precedence  and  power. 

The  swift  and  terrible  blows  which  the  navy  had  dealt 
the  South,  delivered  so  silently  and  yet  with  such  deadly 
effect  that  the  people  had  not  yet  realized  their  import, 
had  convinced  the  President  that  the  war  would  be  one 
of  the  bloodiest  in  history. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Henry  and  Fort  Donelson  with  the 
evacuation  of  Nashville  had  been  a  sword  thrust  into  the 
heart  of  the  lower  South.  The  extent  of  these  disasters 
had  not  been  realized  by  the  public.  The  South  was 
yet  a  sleeping  lioness.  She  could  be  roused  and  her 
powers  wielded  with  certainty  by  one  man.  But  his 
hand  must  be  firm. 

264 


THE  FATAL  BLUNDER 


There  was  one  man  in  the  Cabinet  of  the  Confederacy 
who  clearly  saw  this  from  the  first  dawn  tff  the  new  year 
—  Judah  P.  Benjamin,  the  astute  Secretary  of  War. 
His  keen  logical  mind  had  brushed  aside  the  fog  of  sen 
timent  and  saw  one  thing  —  the  need  of  success  and  the 
way  in  which  to  attain  it. 

The  morning  of  February  twenty-second  was  Wash 
ington's  birthday,  and  for  that  reason  fixed  by  the 
South  as  the  day  of  the  inauguration  of  their  President. 
Nothing  could  have  shown  more  clearly  the  tenacity 
with  which  the  Southern  people  were  clinging  to  their 
old  forms.  The  day  slowly  dawned  through  lowering 
storm  clouds. 

The  President  went  early  to  his  office  for  a  consulta 
tion  with  the  members  of  his  new  Cabinet.  Judah  P. 
Benjamin,  his  chosen  chief  counselor  as  Secretary  of 
State,  was  unusually  reticent.  The  details  of  the  in 
auguration  were  quickly  agreed  on  and  Davis  hastened 
to  return  to  his  room  at  the  White  House  to  complete 
his  preparations  for  the  ceremony. 

Benjamin  followed  his  Chief  thirty  minutes  later  with 
the  most  important  communication  he  had  ever  decided 
to  make. 

As  the  most  trusted  adviser  of  the  President  he  had 
long  had  the  freedom  of  the  house. 

The  resolute  Hebrew  features  of  the  Secretary  were 
set  with  resolution.  He  pushed  his  way  to  the  door  of 
Mr.  Davis'  room,  rapped  for  admission  and  without 
waiting  for  an  answer  softly  and  swiftly  entered.  His 
mission  was  too  important  to  admit  of  delay. 

He  paused  at  the  threshold  in  surprise. 

Jefferson  Davis  was  on  his  knees  in  prayer  so  deep 
and  earnest  he  had  not  heard. 

He  waited  with  head  bowed  in  silent  sympathy  for 
five  minutes  and  looked  with  increasing  amazement  at 
the  white  face  of  the  man  who  prayed.  This  agony 

265 


THE  VICTIM 


of  soul  before  the  God  of  his  fathers  was  a  revelation  to 
the  Minister  of  State. 

His  lips  were  moving  now  in  audible  words. 

"  Thou  alone  art  my  refuge,  O  Lord !  Without  Thee 
I  shall  fail.  Have  pity  on  Thy  servant  —  with  Thy 
wisdom  guide !  " 

The  time  was  swiftly  passing.  The  Minister  could 
not  wait. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  President,"  he  began  in  low 
tones,  "  but  I  have  most  important  communications  to 
make  to  you  — " 

The  voice  of  prayer  softly  died  away  and  slowly  the 
look  of  earth  came  back  to  the  tired  face.  He  turned 
his  hollow  cheeks  to  Benjamin  with  no  attempt  to  mask 
the  agony  of  his  spirit,  slowly  rose  and  motioned  him  to 
a  chair. 

The  Secretary  lifted  his  hand. 

"  I'm  restless.  If  you  don't  mind,  I'll  stand.  I  have 
marked  three  editorial  attacks  on  you  and  your  admin 
istration  in  three  of  the  most  powerful  newspapers  in 
the  South  —  the  Richmond  Examiner,  the  Raleigh 
Standard  and  the  Charleston  Mercury  —  read  them 
please  —  and  then  I  have  something  to  say !  " 

The  President  seated  himself  and  read  each  marked 
sentence  with  care. 

"  The  same  old  thing,  Benjamin  —  only  a  little  more 
virulent  this  time  —  what  of  it?  " 

"  This*!  The  success  of  our  cause  demands  the  sup 
pression  of  these  reptile  sheets  and  the  imprisonment 
of  their  editors  — " 

"  Would  success  be  worth  having  if  we  must  buy  it 
at  the  cost  of  the  liberties  of  our  people?  " 

Benjamin  stopped  short  in  his  tracks.  He  had  been 
walking  back  and  forth  with  swift  panther-like  tread. 

"  We  are  at  war,  Mr.  President  —  fierce,  savage, 
cruel,  it's  going  to  be.  You  have  realized  this  from  the 

266 


THE  FATAL  BLUNDER 


first.  The  world  will  demand  of  us  just  one  thing  - 
success  in  arms.  With  this  we  win  all.  Lose  this  and 
we  lose  all  —  our  liberties  and  a  great  deal  more.  Our 
coast  is  pierced  now  at  regular  intervals  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  River  —  at  Fortress  Monroe  in  Vir 
ginia  —  the  entire  inland  waters  of  North  Carolina, 
Port  Royal,  South  Carolina,  Florida's  line  has  been 
broken.  Grant's  army  is  swarming  into  Tennessee. 
McClellan  is  drilling  three  hundred  thousand  men  in 
Washington  to  descend  on  Richmond.  It's  no  time  i& 
nurse  such  reptiles  in  our  bosom  — " 

"  I  can't  play  the  petty  tyrant  — " 

"  They'M  sting  you  to  death  —  I  warn  you  —  no  ad 
ministration  on  earth  can  live  in  times  of  war  and  endure 
such  infamous  abuse  as  these  conspirators  are  now  heap 
ing  on  your  head.  And  mark  you  —  they  have  only 
begun.  The  junta  of  disgruntled  generals  which  they 
have  organized  will  strangle  the  cause  of  the  South  un 
less  you  grip  the  situation  to-day  with  a  hand  of  steel. 
They  are  laying  their  plans  in  the  new  Congress  to  para 
lyze  your  work  and  heap  on  your  head  the  scorn  of  the 
world." 

The  President  moved  with  a  gesture  of  impatience. 

"  I've  told  you,  Benjamin,  that  I  will  not  suppress 
these  papers  nor  sign  your  order  for  the  arrest  of  the 
editors.  I  am  leading  the  cause  of  a  great  people  to 
preserve  Constitutional  liberty.  Freedom  of  speech  is 
one  of  their  rights  — " 

"  In  times  of  peace,  yes  —  but  not  in  the  crisis  of  war 
when  the  tongue  of  a  fool  may  betray  the  lives  of  mil 
lions.  I  am  not  here  merely  to  ask  you  to  suppress 
these  three  treacherous  rags  —  I'm  here  to  ask  a  bigger 
and  far  more  important  thing.  I  want  you  to  stop 
this  inaugural  ceremony  to-day  — " 

Davis  rose  with  a  quick  excited  movement. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

267 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Just  what  I  say.  Stop  in  time.  We  inaugurated 
a  Provisional  Government  at  Montgomery  to  last  one 
year.  Why  one  year?  Because  we  believed  the  war 
would  be  over  before  that  year  expired.  It  would  have 
been  madness  to  provide  for  the  establishment  of  the 
elaborate  and  clumsy  forms  of  a  Constitutional  Govern 
ment  during  the  progress  of  war.  Why  set  up  a  Con 
stitution  until  you  have  won  by  the  sword  the  power  to 
maintain  it?  " 

"  But,"  Davis  interrupted,  "  if  we  delay  the  adoption 
of  a  Constitution  we  confess  to  the  world  our  want  of 
confidence  in  the  success  of  our  cause.  Such  a  perma 
nent  Constitution  will  be  to  our  people  the  supreme  sign 
of  faith  — " 

"  With  these  jackals  and  hyenas  of  the  press  yelping 
and  snarling  and  snapping  at  your  heels?  These  men 
will  destroy  the  faith  of  our  best  men  and  women  if  you 
only  allow  them  to  repeat  their  lies  often  enough. 
They  will  believe  them  at  last,  themselves.  You  have 
the  confidence  to-day  of  the  whole  South.  Your  bitter 
est  enemy  could  not  name  a  candidate  to  oppose  your 
election  last  November.  Give  these  traitors  time  and 
they  will  change  all  — " 

"  Not  with  military  success  — " 

"  Granted.  But  if  these  jackals  break  down  the  con 
fidence  of  the  people  in  the  administration,  volunteering 
ceases  and  we  have  no  army." 

"  We  must  use  the  Conscription.     It  is  inevitable  — " 

"  Exactly ! "  the  Secretary  cried  triumphantly. 
"  And  Conscription  is  the  reductio  ad  absurdum  of  your 
dream  of  Constitutional  Law.  Why  set  up  a  Constitu 
tion  at  all  to-day?  " 

"  Congress  must  pass  a  Conscript  law  when  necessity 
demands  it." 

"  In  their  own  way,  yes  —  with  ifs  and  ands  and 
clauses  which  defeat  its  purpose." 

268 


THE  FATAL  BLUNDER 


"  They  must  respond  to  the  demands  of  our  people 
when  their  patriotism  is  aroused." 

"  Our  people  have  patriotism  to  spare  if  we  can  only 
guide  it  in  the  right  direction.  If  it  goes  to  seed  in  the 
personal  quarrels  of  generals,  if  it  exhausts  itself  in 
abuse  of  the  Executive,  while  an  overwhelming  enemy 
inarches  on  us  —  What  then  ?  " 

The  President  lifted  his  head. 

"  And  you  recommend  ?  " 

"  Stop  this  ceremony.  Refuse  the  position  of  perma 
nent  President  and  use  your  powers  as  Provisional  Pres 
ident  in  a  Military  Dictatorship  until  the  South 
wins  — " 

"  Never !  "  was  the  quick  reply.  "  I'll  go  down  in 
eternal  defeat  sooner  than  win  an  empire  by  such  be 
trayal  of  the  trust  imposed  in  me  — " 

"  You're  not  betraying  the  trust  imposed  in  you  .by 
assuming  these  powers !  "  Benjamin  exclaimed  with  pas 
sion.  "  You're  fulfilling  that  trust.  You're  doing 
what  the  people  have  called  you  to  do  —  establishing 
the  independence  of  the  South!  The  Government  at 
Washington  has  been  compelled  to  exercise  despotic 
powers  from  the  first  — " 

"  Exactly  —  and  that's  why  we  can't  afford  to  do  it. 
We  are  fighting  the  battle  of  the  North  and  the  South 
for  Constitutional  liberty." 

"  Even  so,  if  we  lose  and  they  win,  the  cause  is  lost. 
Seward  is  now  imprisoning  thousands  of  Northern  men 
who  have  dared  to  sympathize  with  us  — " 

"  An  act  of  infamous  tyranny  !  " 

"  But  if  he  wins  —  who  will  dare  to  criticise  the  wis 
dom  of  his  policy  fifty  years  from  to-day?  If  we  lose, 
who  will  give  us  credit  for  our  high  ideals  of  Civil  Law 
in  times  of  war?  You  have  the  chance  to-day  to  win. 
Leap  into  the  saddle  and  command  the  obedience  of  ev 
ery  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  South!  Your  Con- 

269 


THE  VICTIM 


gress  which  assembles  to-day  is  a  weak  impossible  body 
of  men.  They  have  nothing  to  do  except  to  make  fool 
ish  speeches  and  hatch  conspiracies  against  your  ad 
ministration.  We  have  muzzled  them  behind  closed 
doors.  The  remedy  is  worse  than  the  disease.  The 
rumors  they  circulate  through  the  reptile  press  do  more 
harm  than  the  record  of  their  vapid  talk  could  possibly 
accomplish.  Why  tie  these  millstones  around  your 
neck?  They  came  yesterday  to  demand  the  head  of 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston.  They  are  organizing  to  drive 
Lee  out  of  the  army.  They  allow  no  opportunity  to 
pass  to  sneer  at  his  position  as  your  chief  military  ad 
viser  since  his  return  from  Western  Virginia.  You 
know  and  I  know  that  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  and  R. 
E.  Lee  are  our  greatest  generals  — " 

"  I'll  protect  them  from  the  chatter  of  fools  —  never 
fear  — " 

"  To  what  end  if  you  allow  them  to  break  down  the 
faith  of  our  people  in  their  Government?  The  strong 
arm,  alone,  can  save  us.  It's  no  time  to  haggle  about 
the  forms  of  law.  Your  duty  is  clear.  Stop  this  fool 
ish  ceremony  of  Inauguration  to-day  and  assume  in  due 
time  the  Dictatorship  — " 

Davis  threw  both  arms  up  in  a  gesture  of  impatient 
refusal. 

"It's  a  waste  of  breath,  Benjamin.     I'll  die  first!" 

The  elastic  spirit  of  the  younger  man  recovered  its 
poise  at  once  and  accepted  the  decision. 

With  a  genial  smile  he  slipped  one  arm  around  the 
tall  figure. 

"  Brave,  generous,  big-hearted,  foolish  —  my  cap 
tain  !  Well,  I've  done  my  duty  as  your  chief  counselor. 
Now  I'll  obey  orders  —  one  thing  more  I  must  add  in 
warning.  Richmond  swarms  with  spies.  It  will  be  im 
possible  to  defend  the  Capital  on  the  approach  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  army  without  a  proclamation  of  martial  law." 

270 


THE  FATAL  BLUNDER 


The  President  looked  up  sharply. 

"  We'll  compromise  on  that.  I'll  proclaim  martial 
law  and  suspend  the  writ  in  Richmond  — " 

"  And  a  radius  of  ten  miles." 

"  All  right  —  I'll  do  that." 

It  was  the  utmost  concession  the  wily  minister  of 
State  could  wring  from  his,  Chief.  But  it  was  impor 
tant.  The  Secretary  had  his  eye  on  a  certain  house 
on  Church  Hill.  It  might  be  necessary  to  expel  its 
owners. 

"  By  the  way,"  the  President  added,  as  his  Secretary 
stood  with  his  hand  on  the  door.  "  I  wrote  a  recom 
mendation  to  your  new  department  for  the  appointment 
of  a  young  friend  of  Miss  Barton  to  a  position  in  your 
office.  He's  a  man  of  brilliant  talents  —  a  foreigner 
who  has  cast  his  fortunes  with  us.  Do  what  you  can 
for  him  — " 

"  I'll  remember  — "  the  Secretary  nodded  and  hurried 
to  his  office  to  issue  his  proclamation  of  martial  law  for 
the  city  and  district  of  Richmond. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  rain  began  to  pour  in  torrents. 
The  streets  were  flooded.  Rushing  rivers  of  muddy 
water  roared  over  its  cobble  stones  and  leaped  down  its 
steep  hills  into  the  yellow  tide  of  the  James. 

Every  flag  drooped  and  flapped  in  dismal  weeping 
against  its  staff.  The  decorations  of  the  houses  and 
windows  outside  were  ruined.  The  bunting  swayed  and 
sagged  in  deep  curves  across  the  streets,  pouring  a 
stream  of  water  from  the  folds. 

At  twelve  o'clock,  the  procession  formed  in  the  Hall 
of  the  Virginia  Legislature  and  marched  through  the 
pouring  rain  to  the  platform  erected  around  the  statue 
of  Washington.  In  spite  of  the  storm  an  immense 
crowd  packed  the  space  around  the  speaker's  stand, 
presenting  the  curious  spectacle  of  a  sea  of  umbrellas. 

Socola  watched  this  crowd  stand  patiently  in  the 
271 


THE  VICTIM 


downpour  with  a  deepening  sense  of  the  tragedy  it  fore 
shadowed.  The  people  who  could  set  their  teeth  and 
go  through  an  inauguration  ceremony  scheduled  in  the 
open  air  on  such  a  day  might  be  defeated  in  battle,  but 
the  victor  would  pay  his  tribute  of  blood.  He  had  not 
dared  to  ask  Jennie  to  accept  his  escort  on  such  a  day 
and  yet  they  drifted  to  each  other's  side  by  some 
strange  power  of  attraction. 

The  scene  was  weird  in  its  utter  depression  of  all  en 
thusiasm,  and  yet  the  sullen  purpose  which  held  the 
people  was  sublime  in  its  persistence.  An  awning  cov 
ered  the  speaker's  stand  and  beneath  this  friendly  cover 
the  ceremony  was  performed  down  to  the  last  detail. 

The  President  rose  and  faced  his  audience  under  the 
most  trying  conditions.  Oratory  was  beyond  human 
effort.  He  did  not  attempt  it.  He  read  his  frank  dig 
nified  address  in  simple,  clear,  musical  tones  which  rang 
with  strange  effect  over  the  crowd  of  drenched  men  and 
women.  Not  a  single  cheer  broke  the  delivery  of  his 
address.  He  sought  in  no  way  to  apologize  for  the  dis 
asters  which  had  befallen  his  people.  He  faced  them 
bravely  and  summoned  his  followers  to  be  equally  brave. 
The  close  of  his  address  caught  the  morbid  fancy  of 
Socola  with  peculiar  fascination.  Clouds  of  unusual 
threatening  depths  were  rolling  across  the  heavens, 
against  which  the  canopied  platform  was  sharply  out 
lined.  The  thin  form  of  the  President  rose  white  and 
ghost-like  against  this  black  background  of  clouds.  He 
was  extremely  pale,  his  cheeks  hollowed  deep,  his  head 
bared  regardless  of  the  chill  mists  which  beat  through 
the  canopy. 

His  tall  figure  stood  tense,  trembling,  death-like  — 
the  emblem  of  sacrificial  offering  on  the  altar  of  his 
country. 

Socola  whispered  to  Jennie: 
"  Where  have  I  witnessed  this  scene  before?  " 
272 


THE  FATAL  BLUNDER 


"  Surely  not  in  America  — " 

"  No  " —  he  mused  thoughtfully  —  "I  remember 
now  —  on  a  lonely  hill  outside  Jerusalem  the  Roman 
soldiers  were  crucifying  a  man  on  a  day  like  this  — 
that's  where  I  saw  it !  " 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  the  uncanny  words  in  a  low 
undertone  when  the  speaker  closed  his  address  with  a 
remarkable  prayer. 

Suddenly  dropping  his  manuscript  on  the  table  he 
lifted  his  eyes  into  the  darkened  heavens  and  cried  with 
deep  passion : 

"  With  humble  gratitude  and  adoration,  to  Thee,  O 
God,  I  trustingly  commit  myself,  and  prayerfully  in 
voke  Thy  blessing  on  my  country  and  its  cause ! " 


19 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  SLEEPING  LIONESS 

Again  the  smoke  of  the  navy  shadowed  the  Southern 
skies.  Two  expeditions  were  aiming  mortal  blows  at  the 
lower  South. 

The  Confederacy  had  concentrated  its  forces  of  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi  on  Island  Number  10 
near  New  Madrid.  The  work  of  putting  this  little  Gib 
raltar  in  a  state  of  perfect  defense  had  been  rushed  with 
all  possible  haste.  New  Madrid  had  been  found  inde 
fensible  and  evacuated  on  March  thirteenth. 

On  the  seventeenth,  Commodore  Foote's  fleet  steamed 
into  position  and  the  first  shell  from  his  guns  shrieked 
its  message  of  death  across  the  island.  The  gunboats 
concentrated  their  fire  on  the  main  battery  which  was 
located  on  low  ground,  almost  submerged  by  the  high 
water  and  separated  from  the  others  by  a  wide  slough. 
Their  gun  platforms  were  covered  with  water  —  the 
men  in  gray  must  work  their  pieces  standing  half-leg 
deep  in  mud  and  slush.  Five  ironclad  gunboats  led  the 
attack.  Three  of  them  were  lashed  together  in  mid 
stream  and  one  lay  under  the  shelter  of  each  shore. 
Their  concentrated  fire  was  terrific.  For  nine  hours 
they  poured  a  stream  of  shot  and  shell  on  the  lone  bat 
tery  with  its  beaver  gunmen. 

At  three  o'clock  Captain  Rucker  in  charge  of  the  bat 
tery  called  for  reinforcements  to  relieve  his  ex 
hausted  men.  Volunteers  rushed  to  his  assistance  and 
his  guns  roared  until  darkness  brought  them  respite. 
It  had  been  done.  A  single  half-submerged  battery 

274 


THE  SLEEPING  LIONESS 

exposed  to  the  concentrated  fire  of  a  powerful  fleet  had 
held  them  at  bay  and  compelled  them  to  withdraw  at 
nightfall.  Rucker  fired  the  last  shot  as  twilight  gath 
ered  over  the  yellow  waters.  His  battery  had  mounted 
five  guns  at  sunrise.  Three  of  them  were  dismantled. 
Two  of  them  still  spoke  defiance  from  their  mud-soaked 
beds. 

On  April  the  sixth,  the  fleet  reenforced  succeeded  in 
slipping  past  the  batteries  in  a  heavy  fog.  A  landing 
was  effected  above  and  below  the  island  in  large  force, 
and  its  surrender  was  a  military  necessity. 

Foote  and  Pope  captured  MacKall,  th'e  commander, 
two  brigadier  generals,  six  colonels,  a  stand  of  ten  thou 
sand  arms,  two  thousand  soldiers,  seventy  pieces  of 
siege  artillery,  thirty  pieces  of  field  artillery,  fifty-six 
thousand  solid  shot,  six  transports  and  a  floating  bat 
tery  of  sixteen  guns. 

A  cry  of  anguish  came  from  the  heart  of  the  Confed 
erate  President.  The  loss  of  men  was  insignificant  — 
the  loss  of  this  enormous  store  of  heavy  guns  and  ammu 
nition  with  no  factory  as  yet  capable  of  manufacturing 
them  was  irreparable. 

But  the  cup  of  his  misery  was  not  yet  full.  The 
greatest  fleet  the  United  States  Navy  had  gathered, 
was  circling  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  with  its  guns 
pointing  toward  New  Orleans.  Gideon  Welles  had  se 
lected  for  command  of  this  important  enterprise  the 
man  of  destiny,  Davis  Glasgow  Farragut,  a  Southerner 
whose  loyalty  to  the  Union  had  never  been  questioned. 

Eighty-two  ships  answered  Farragut's  orders  in  his 
West  Gulf  squadron  at  their  rendezvous.  His  ships 
were  wood,  but  no  braver  men  ever  walked  the  decks  of 
a  floating  battery. 

In  March  he  managed  to  crawl  across  the  bar  and 
push  his  fleet  into  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
Colorado  was  too  deep  and  was  left  outside.  The  Pen- 

275 


THE  VICTIM 


sacola  and  the  Mississippi  he  succeeded  in  dragging 
through  the  mud. 

His  ships  inside,  the  Commander  ordered  them 
stripped  for  the  death  grapple. 

New  Orleans  had  been  from  the  first  considered  ab 
solutely  impregnable  to  attack  from  the  sea.  Forts 
Jackson  and  St.  Phillip,  twenty  miles  below  the  c4ty, 
were  each  fortifications  of  the  first  rank  mounting 
powerful  guns  which  swept  the  narrow  channel  of  the 
river  from  shore  to  shore. 

The  use  of  steam,  however,  in  naval  warfare  was  as 
yet  an  untried  element  of  force  in  the  attacking  fleet 
against  shore  batteries.  That  steam-  in  wooden  vessels 
could  overcome  the  enormous  advantage  of  the  solidity 
and  power  of  shore  guns  had  been  considered  prepos 
terous  by  military  experts. 

Jefferson  Davis  had  utilized  every  shipbuilder  in 
New  Orleans  to  hastily  construct  the  beginnings  of  a 
Southern  navy.  Two  powerful  iron-clad  gunboats, 
Louisiana  and  Mississippi,  were  under  way  but  not 
ready  for  service.  Eight  small  vessels  had  been 
bought  and  armed. 

To  secure  the  city  against  the  possibility  of  any  fleet 
passing  the  forts  at  night  or  through  fog,  the  channel 
of  the  river  between  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Phillip  was 
securely  closed.  Eleven  dismasted  schooners  were 
moored  in  line  across  the  river  and  secured  by  six  heavy 
chains.  These  chains  formed  an  unbroken  obstruction 
from  shore  to  shore. 

This  raft  was  placed  immediately  below  the  forts. 

There  was  no  serious  alarm  in  the  city  on  the  ap 
pearance  of  the  fleet  in  the  mouth  of  the  river.  For 
months  they  had  been  cruising  about  the  Gulf  of  Mex 
ico  without  apparent  decision. 

The  people  laughed  at  their  enemy.  There  was  but 
one  verdict: 

276 


THE  SLEEPING  LIONESS 

"  They'll  think  twice  before  attempting  to  repeat  the 
scenes  of  1812." 

Not  only  were  the  two  great  forts  impregnable  but 
the  shores  were  lined  with  batteries.  What  could  wooden 
ships  do  with  such  forts  and  guns?  It  was  a  joke 
that  they  should  pretend  to  attack  them.  Their  only 
possible  danger  was  from  the  new  iron-clad  gunboats  in 
the  upper  waters  of  the  river.  They  were  building 
two  of  their  own  kind  which  would  be  ready  long  before 
the  enemy  could  break  through  the  defenses  from  the 
North. 

When  Farragut  stripped  his  fleet  for  action  and 
moved  toward  the  forts  on  the  sixteenth  of  April,  New 
Orleans  was  the  gayest  city  in  America.  The  spirit  of 
festivity  was  universal.  Balls,  theaters,  operas  were 
the  order  of  the  day.  Gay  parties  of  young  people 
flocked  down  the  river  and  swarmed  the  levees  to  wit 
ness  the  fun  of  the  foolish  attempt  of  a  lot  of  old 
wooden  ships  to  reduce  the  great  forts. 

The  guns  were  roaring  now  their  mighty  anthem. 
Ships  and  forts  —  forts  and  ships.  The  batteries  of 
Farragut's  mortar  schooners  were  hurling  their  eleven- 
inch  shells  with  harmless  inaccuracy. 

The  people  laughed  again. 

For  six  days  the  earth  trembled  beneath  the  fierce 
bombardment.  The  fleet  had  thrown  twenty-five  thou 
sand  shells  and  General  Duncan  reported  but  two  guns 
dismantled,  with  half  a  dozen  men  killed  and  wounded. 
The  forts  stood  grim  and  terrible,  their  bristling  line 
of  black-lipped  guns  unbroken,  their  defenses  as  strong 
as  when  the  first  shot  was  fired. 

On  the  evening  of  April  twenty-third,  the  fire  of  the 
fleet  slackened.  Farragut  had  given  up  the  foolish  at 
tempt,  of  course.  He  had  undertaken  the  impossible 
and  at  last  had  accepted  the  fact. 

But  the  people  of  New  Orleans  had  not  reckoned  on 
277 


THE  VICTIM 


the  character  of  the  daring  commander  of  the  Federal 
fleet.  He  coolly  decided  that  since  he  could  not  silence 
the  guns  of  the  forts  he  would  run  past  them  with  his 
swift  steam  craft  and  take  the  chances  of  their  bat 
teries  sending  him  to  the  bottom. 

Once  past  these  forts  and  the  city  would  be  at  his 
mercy. 

He  must  first  clear  the  river  of  the  obstruction 
placed  below  the  forts.  Farragut  ordered  two  gun 
boats  to  steal  through  the  darkness  without  lights  and 
clear  this  raft.  The  work  was  swiftly  done.  The  task 
was  rendered  unexpectedly,  easy  by  a  break  caused  by  a 
severe  storm. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fourth, 
the  lookout  on  the  ramparts  of  the  forts  saw  the  black 
hulls  of  the  fleet,  swiftly  and  silently  steaming  up  the 
river  straight  for  the  mouths  of  their  guns. 

The  word  was  flashed  to  the  little  nondescript  fleet 
of  the  Confederacy  lying  in  the  smooth  waters  above 
and  they  moved  instantly  to  the  support  of  the 
forts. 

The  night  was  one  of  calm  and  glorious  beauty. 
The  Southern  skies  sparkled  with  jeweled  stars.  The 
waning  moon  threw  its  soft,  mellow  light  on  the  shining 
waters,  revealing  the  dark  hulls  of  the  fleet  with  strik 
ing  clearness.  The  daring  column  was  moving  straight 
for  Fort  Jackson.  They  must  pass  close  under  the 
noses  of  her  guns. 

They  were  in  for  it  now. 

The  dim  star-lit  world  with  its  fading  moon  suddenly 
burst  into  sheets  of  blinding,  roaring  flame.  The  mor 
tar  batteries  moored  in  range,  opened  instantly  in  re 
sponse  —  their  eleven-inch  shells,  glowing  with  phos 
phorescent  halo,  circled  and  screamed  and  fell. 

The  black  hulls  belched  their  broadsides  of  yellow 
flame  now.  From  battlement  and  casemate  of  forts 

278 


THE  SLEEPING  LIONESS 

rolled  the  thunder  of  their  batteries,  sending  their 
heavy  shots  smashing  into  the  wooden  hulls. 

Through  the  flaming  jaws  of  hell,  the  fleet,  with 
lungs  throbbing  with  every  pound  of  steam,  dashed  and 
passed  the  forts! 

Farragut  led  in  tne  Hartford.  But  his  work  had 
only  begun.  He  had  scarcely  reckoned  on  the  little 
Confederate  fleet.  He  found  them  a  serious  proposi 
tion. 

Suddenly  above  the  flash  and  roar  and  the  batteries 
of  the  forts  and  over  the  broadsides  of  the  ships  leaped 
a  wall  of  fire  straight  into  the  sky. 

Slowly  but  surely  the  flaming  heavens  moved  down 
on  the  attacking  fleet  lighting  the  yellow  waters  with 
unearthly  glare. 

The  Confederates  had  loosed  a  fleet  of  fire  ships 
loaded  with  pitch  pine  cargoes.  Farragut's  lines  wav 
ered  in  the  black  confusion  of  rolling  clouds  of  impene 
trable  smoke,  lighted  by  the  glare  of  leaping  flames. 

The  daring  little  fleet  of  the  Confederacy  moved 
down  through  the  blinding  vapors  of  their  own  fires  and 
boldly  attacked  the  on-coming  hosts.  Friend  could 
scarcely  be  told  from  foe. 

A*  game  little  Confederate  tug  stuck  her  nose  into  a 
fire-ship,  pushed  it  squarely  against  Farragut's  Hart 
ford  and  slipped  between  his  guns  in  the  smoke  and 
flame  unharmed.  The  Flagship  ran  aground.  Her 
sailors  bravely  stuck  to  their  post  and  from  their 
pumps  threw  a  deluge  of  water  on  the  flames  and  ex 
tinguished  them.  The  engines  of  the  Hartford,  work 
ing  with  all  their  might,  pulled  her  off  the  shore  under 
her  own  steam.  The  Louisiana,  the  new  gunboat  of 
the  Confederacy,  had  been  pressed  into  service  with  but 
two  of  her  guns  working  —  but  she  was  of  little  use 
and  became  unmanageable. 

Captain  Kennon,  the  gallant  Confederate  com- 
279 


THE  VICTIM 


inander  of  the  Governor  Moore,  found  that  the  bow  of 
his  ship  interfered  with  the  aim  of  his  gunners. 

"  Lower  your  muzzle  and  blow  the  bow  of  your  ship 
away ! " 

The  big  gun  dipped  its  black  mouth  and  blew  the 
bow  of  his  own  ship  to  splinters  and  through  the  open 
ing  poured  shot  after  shot  into  the  Federal  fleet.  Ken- 
non  fired  his  last  shot  at  point-blank  range,  turned  the 
broken  nose  of  his  ship  ashore  and  blew  her  up. 

For  an  hour  and  a  half  the  two  desperate  foes  wres 
tled  with  each  other  amid  flame  and  smoke  and  dark 
ness.  As  the  first  blush  of  dawn  mantled  the  eastern 
sky  the  conflict  slowly  died  away. 

Three  of  Farragut's  gunboats  had  been  driven  back 
and  one  sunk,  but  his  fleet  had  done  the  immortal  deed. 
Battered  and  riddled  with  shots,  they  had  passed  the 
forts  successfully.  As  the  sun  rose  on  the  beautiful 
spring  morning  he  lifted  his  battle  flags  and  steamed 
up  the  river. 

New  Orleans,  the  commercial  capital  of  the  South, 
the  largest  export  city  of  the  world,  lay  on  the  horizon 
in  silent  shimmering  beauty,  a  priceless  treasure,  at  his 
mercy. 

Speechless  crowds  of  thousands  thronged  the  streets. 
The  small  garrison  had  been  withdrawn  and  the  city 
left  to  its  fate.  The  marines  stood  statue-like  before 
the  City  Hall,  their  bayonets  glittering  in  the  sunlight. 
Not  a  breath  of  wind  stirred.  In  dead,  ominous  silence 
the  flag  of  the  South  was  lowered  from  its  staff  and  the 
flag  of  the  Union  raised  in  its  old  place. 

There  was  one  man  among  the  thousands  who  saw 
this  flag  with  a  cry  of  joy.  Judge  Roger  Barton,  Jr., 
had  braved  the  scorn  of  his  neighbors  through  good 
report  and  evil  report,  holding  their  respect  by  the 
sheer  heroism  of  his  undaunted  courage.  His  aged 
grandfather  was  in  the  city  at  the  moment,  having  come 

280 


THE  SLEEPING  LIONESS 

on  a  visit  from  Fairview.  Baton  Rouge  must  fall  at 
once.  There  was  nothing  to  prevent  Farragut's  fleet 
from  steaming  up  the  river  now  for  hundreds  of  miles. 
The  old  Colonel  was  furious  when  informed  that  he 
could  not  return  to  Fairview.  But  there  was  no  help 
for  it. 

"  Don't  worry,  Grandfather,"  the  judge  pleaded ; 
"  you  can  depend  on  it,  Senator  Barton  will  save  Fair- 
view  if  it's  within  human  power  — " 

"  But  your  grandmother  is  there,  sir ! "  thundered 
the  old  man,  "  helpless  on  her  back.  There's  no  one 
to  protect  her  from  the  damned  Yankees  — " 

The  Judge  smiled. 

"  Maybe  the  Yankees  will  not  be  so  bad  after  all, 
grandfather.  Anyhow  there's  no  help  for  it.  I've 
got  you  here  with  me  safe  and  sound  and  I'm  going  to 
keep  you  — " 

The  fall  of  New  Orleans  sent  a  dagger  into  the  heart 
of  the  South.  Ft.  Donelson  had  broken  the  center. 
The  fall  of  New  Orleans  had  smashed  the  left  wing  of 
the  far-flung  battle  line.  The  power  of  the  Confeder 
acy  was  crushed  in  the  rich  and  powerful  State  of 
Louisiana  at  a  single  stroke.  The  route  to  Texas  was 
cut.  The  United  States  Navy  had  established  a  base 
from  which  to  send  their  fleets  into  the  interior  by  the 
great  rivers  and  by  the  gulf  from  the  Rio  Grande  to 
the  Keys  of  Florida. 

The  sleeping  lioness  stirred  at  last.  The  delusion 
of  Bull  Run  had  passed.  It  took  six  months  of  disas 
ters  to  do  for  the  South  what  Bull  Run  did  for  the 
North  in  six  days.  The  South  began  now  to  rise  in 
her  might  and  gird  her  loins  for  the  fight  she  had  fool 
ishly  thought  won  on  the  plains  of  Manassas. 

Senator  Barton  was  in  bed  so  ill  from  an  attack  of 
influenza  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  travel. 

Jennie  hastily  packed  her  trunk  and  left  on  the  first 
281 


THE  VICTIM 


train  for  the  South.  She  must  reach  her  helpless 
grandmother  before  the  Federal  army  could  attack 
Baton  Rouge. 

The  tenderness  with  which  Socola  helped  her  on 
hoard  the  train  had  brought  the  one  ray  of  sunlight 
into  her  heart.  She  had  expected  to  go  in  tears  and 
terror  for  what  the  future  held  in  store  in  the  stricken 
world  at  home. 

A  smile  on  the  lips  of  a  stranger  had  set  her  heart  to 
beating  with  joy. 

She  was  ashamed  of  herself  for  being  so  happy. 
But  it  was  impossible  to  make  her  heart  stop  beating 
and  laughing.  He  had  not  yet  spoken  a  word  of  love 
but  she  knew.  She  knew  with  a  knowledge  sweet  and 
perfect  because  she  had  suddenly  realized  her  own  se 
cret.  She  might  have  gone  on  for  months  in  Richmond 
without  knowing  that  she  cared  any  more  for  him  than 
for  a  dozen  other  boys  who  were  as  attentive.  In  this 
hour  of  parting  it  had  come  in  a  blinding  flash  as  he 
bent  over  her  hand  to  say  good-by.  It  made  no  differ 
ence  when  he  should  speak.  Love  had  come  into  her 
own  heart  full,  wonderful,  joyous,  maddening  in  its 
glory.  She  could  wait  in  silence  until  in  the  fullness 
of  time  he  must  speak.  It  was  enough  to  know  that 
she  loved. 

"  May  I  write  to  you  occasionallv,  Miss  Jennie  ?  " 
he  asked  with  a  timid,  hesitating  look. 

She  laughed. 

"  Of  course,  you  must  write  and  tell  me  everything 
that  happens  here." 

Socola  wondered  why  she  laughed.  It  was  discon 
certing.  He  hadn't  faced  the  question  of  loving  Jen 
nie.  She  was  just  a  charming,  beautiful  child  whose 
acquaintance  he  could  use  for  great  ends.  His  depres 
sion  came  from  the  tremendous  nerve  strain  of  his 
work.  The  early  movement  of  McClellan's  army  had 

282 


THE  SLEEPING  LIONESS 

kept  him  in  that  darkened  attic  on  Church  Hill  con 
tinuously  every  hour  of  the  past  night.  He  was  feeling 
the  strain.  He  would  throw  it  off  when  he  got  a  good 
night's  rest. 

It  was  not  until  twenty-four  hours  after  Jennie's  de 
parture  that  he  waked  with  a  dull  ache  in  his  heart  that 
refused  to  go.  And  so  while  he  dragged  himself  about 
his  task  with  a  sense  of  sickening  loneliness,  a  girl  was 
softly  singing  in  the  far  South. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  BOMBARDMENT 

Baton  Rouge  seethed  with  excitement  on  the  day  of 
Jennie's  arrival.  Every  wagon  and  dray  was  pressed 
into  service.  The  people  were  hauling  their  cotton  to 
he  burned  on  the  commons.  Negroes  swarmed  over  the 
bales,  cutting  them  open,  piling  high  the  fleecy  lint  and 
then  applying  the  torch.  The  flames  leaped  upward 
with  a  roar  and  dropped  as  suddenly  into  a  smolder 
ing  and  smoking  mass. 

A  crowd  rushed  to  the  wharf  to  see  them  fire 
an  enormous  flat-boat  piled  mountain-high  with  cot 
ton.  A  dozen  bales  had  been  broken  open  and  the 
whole  floating  funeral  pyre  stood  shrouded  in  spotless 
white  which  leaped  into  flames  as  it  was  pushed  into  the 
stream. 

Along  the  levee  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  negroes 
crawled  like  black  ants  rolling  the  cotton  into  the  river. 
The  ties  were  smashed,  and  the  white  bundle  of  cotton 
tumbled  into  the  water  and  was  set  on  fire.  Each  bale 
sent  up  its  cloud  of  smoke  until  the  surface  of  the 
whole  river  seemed  alive  with  a  fleet  of  war  crowding 
its  steam  to  run  fresh  batteries.  Another  flat-boat 
was  piled  high,  its  bales  cut  open,  soaked  with  whiskey, 
and  set  on  fire.  The  blue  flames  of  burning  alcohol 
gave  a  touch  of  weird  and  sinister  color  to  the  scene. 

The  men  who  owned  this  cotton  stood  by  cheering 
and  helping  in  its  destruction.  The  two  flat-boats 
with  flames  leaping  into  the  smoke  pall  of  the  darkened 
skies  led  the  fleet  of  fire  down  the  river  to  greet  Farra- 
gut's  men  in  their  way. 

284 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


Every  saloon  was  emptied  and  every  gutter  flowed 
with  wines  and  liquors. 

Jennie  found  her  grandmother  resting  serenely  in 
her  great  rocking  chair,  apparently  indifferent  to  the 
uproar  of  the  town.  The  household  with  its  seventy- 
odd  negro  servants  was  running  its  usual  smooth, 
careless  course. 

Jennie  read  aloud  the  announcement  in  the  morning 
paper  of  Butler's  order  to  New  Orleans : 

"  All  devices,  signs,  and  flags  of  the  Confederacy 
shall  be  suppressed  — " 

She  clenched  her  fist  and  sprang  to  her  feet. 

"  Good !  I'll  devote  all  my  red,  white  and  blue  silk 
to  the  manufacture  of  Confederate  flags!  When  one 
is  confiscated  —  I'll  make  another.  I'll  wear  one 
pinned  on  my  bosom.  The  man  who  says,  '  Take  it 
off,'  will  have  to  pull  it  off  himself.  The  man  who  does 
that  —  well,  I've  a  pistol  ready !  — " 

"What  are  you  saying,  dear?"  the  old  lady  asked 
with  her  thin  hand  behind  her  ear. 

"  Oh,  nothing  much,  grandma  dear,"  was  the  sweet 
answer.  "  I  was  only  wishing  I  were  a  man !  " 

She  slipped  her  arms  about  her  thin  neck  and 
whispered  this  in  deep,  tragic  tones.  With  a  bound 
she  was  off  to  the  depot  to  see  the  last  squad  of 
soldiers  depart  for  the  front  before  the  gunboats  ar 
rived. 

They  waved  their  hats  to  the  crowds  of  women  and 
children  as  the  train  slowly  pulled  out. 

"  God  bless  you,  ladies !  We're  going  to  fight  for 
you ! " 

Jennie  drew  her  handkerchief,  waved  and  sobbed  the 
chorus  in  reply. 

"  God  bless  you,  soldiers !     Fight  for  us !  " 

Four  hours  later  the  black  gunboats  swung  at  their 
285 


THE  VICTIM 


anchors.     The  proud  little  conquered  city  lay  at  the 
mercy  of  their  guns. 

Jennie  watch'ed  them  with  shining  eyes,  and  that 
without  fear.  The  Union  flag  was  streaming  from 
every  peak  and  halyard. 

The  girl  rushed  home,  made  a  flag  five  inches  long, 
pinned  it  to  her  shoulder  and  deliberately  walked  down 
town.  Mattie  Morgan  joined  her  at  the  corner  and 
drew  one  from  the  folds  of  her  dress,  emboldened  by  the 
example. 

They  marched  straight  to  the  State  House  terrace 
to  take  a  good  look  at  the  Brooklyn  lying  close  inshore. 
Fifteen  or  twenty  Federal  officers  were  standing  on  the 
first  terrace,  stared  at  by  the  crowd  as  if  they  were  wild 
beasts. 

"  Oh,  Mattie,"  Jennie  faltered.  "  We  didn't  expect 
to  meet  these  people.  What  shall  we  do?  " 

"  Stand  by  your  colors  now.  There's  nothing  else 
to  do." 

On  they  marched,  hearts  thumping  painfully  with 
conscious  humiliation  at  their  silly  bravado.  Fine, 
noble-looking,  quiet  fellows  those  officers  in  blue  —  re 
finement  and  gentlemanly  bearing  in  every  move 
ment  of  their  stalwart  bodies.  They  had  come  ashore 
as  friendly  sight-seers  and  stood  admiring  the  beauty 
of  the  quaint  old  town.  Jennie's  eyes  filled  with  tears 
of  vexation. 

"  Let's  go  home,  Mattie—" 

"  I  say  so,  too  — " 

"  Never  again  for  me !  I'll  hang  my  flag  on  the  man 
tel.  I'll  not  try  to  wave  it  in  the  face  of  a  gentleman 
again  —  oof  —  what  silly  fools  we  were !  " 

The  Federal  commander  of  the  fleet  had  warned  the 
citizens  of  Baton  Rouge  that  any  hostile  demonstration 
against  his  ships  or  men  would  mean  the  instant  bom 
bardment  of  the  town. 

286 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


Jennie  had  just  finished  breakfast  and  helped  her 
grandmother  to  find  her  way  to  the  rocker.  Mandy 
had  been  sent  to  the  store  for  some  thread  with  which 
to  make  a  new  uniform  for  one  of  the  boys.  Jennie 
resolved  to  turn  her  energies  to  practical  account  now. 
No  more  flaunting  of  tiny  flags  in  the  faces  of  brave, 
dignified  young  officers  of  the  navy. 

The  maid  rushed  through  the  hall  wild  with  excite 
ment.  She  had  run  every  step  back  from  the  store 
without  the  thread. 

"  Lowdy,  Miss  Jennie,"  she  gasped,  "  sumfin'  awful 
happened !  " 

"What  is  it?     What's  the  matter?" 

Mandy  stood  in  dumb  terror,  the  whites  of  her  eyes 
shining.  She  was  listening  apparently  for  the  arch 
angel's  trumpet  to  sound. 

Jennie  seized  her  shoulders. 

"What's  the  matter?  Tell  me  before  I  murder 
you ! " 

"  Yassam !  "  Mandy  gasped  and  again  her  head  was 
cocked  to  one  side  as  if  straining  her  ears  for  the 
dreaded  sound  of  Gabriel. 

"  What's  happened  ?  —     Tell  me !  "  Jennie  stormed. 

At  last  poor  Mandy's  senses  slowly  returned.  She 
stared  into  her  young  mistress'  face  and  gasped: 

"  Yassam  —  Mr.  Castle's  killed  a  Yankee  ossifer  on 
de  ship  an'  dey  gwine  ter  shell  — " 

"Boom!" 

The  deep  thunder  peal  of  a  great  gun  shook  the 
world.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  sound  of  it  or  its 
meaning.  The  fleet  had  opened  fire  on  the  defenseless 
town.  Mandy's  teeth  chattered  and  her  voice  failed. 

And  then  pandemonium. 

Poor  old  negroes  and  helpless  pickaninnies  swarmed 
into  the  house  for  shelter  from  the  doom  of  Judgment 
Day. 

287 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Run  —  run  for  your  lives  —  get  out  of  the  way  of 
those  shells !  "  Jennie  shouted. 

Her  three  terror-stricken  maids  huddled  by  her  side 
in  helpless  panic. 

Her  grandmother  sprang  to  her  feet  and  asked  in 
subdued  tones : 

"What  is  it,  child?" 

"  The  fleet's  shelling  the  town  —  grandma  —  you'll 
be  killed  —  the  house'll  be  smashed  —  you  must  run 
—  run  for  your  life  — " 

Jennie  screamed  her  warning  into  the  sweet  old 
lady's  ears  and  seized  her  by  the  hand. 

"  But  they  can't  shell  a  town  full  of  helpless  women 
and  children,  my  dear,"  the  grandmother  protested 
gently.  "  It's  impossible  — " 

"  Boom  —  boom ! "  pealed  two  guns  in  quick  succes 
sion. 

"  De  Lawd  save  us !  "  Lucy  screamed. 

"  You  see  they're  doing  it  —  come  — " 

Jennie  grasped  her  grandmother's  hand  firmly  and 
dragged  her  from  the  house.  From  the  servants' 
quarters  came  one  long  wail  of  prayer  and  lamentation 
mingled  with  shouts  and  exhortation.  An  old  bed-rid 
den  black  woman,  a  fervent  Methodist,  raised  a  hymn : 

"  Better  days  are  coming,  we'll  all  go  riglit!  " 

Jennie  had  reached  the  gate  when  she  suddenly  re 
membered  her  canary  —  a  present  Billy  had  given  her 
on  her  eighteenth  birthday.  She  rushed  back  into  the 
house,  snatched  the  cage  up  and  started  on  the  run 
again. 

What  was  the  use?  It  was  impossible  to  take  the 
bird.  He  would  starve  to  death. 

She  quickly  opened  the  cage,  took  him  out  and  kissed 
his  yellow  head. 

"  Good-by,  Jimmy  darling !  " 

The  tears  would  come  in  spite  of  all  she  could  do. 
288 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


"  I  hope  you'll  be  happy !  " 

With  quick  decision  she  tossed  him  in  the  air. 

The  bird  gave  one  helpless  chirp  of  surprise  and  ter 
ror  at  the  strange  new  world,  fluttered  in  a  circle, 
spread  his  wings  at  last  and  was  gone. 

The  girl  brushed  her  tears  away  and  returned  to  her 
grandmother's  side.  The  gravel  was  cutting  her  feet. 
Her  shoes  were  utterly  unfit  for  running.  She  would 
rush  back  and  get  a  pair  of  the  boys'  strong  ones. 
She  had  worn  them  before. 

"  Wait,  grandma !  "  she  shouted.  "  I  must  change 
my  shoes ! " 

Back  into  the  house  she  plunged  and  found  the 
shoes.  Seeing  the  house  still  standing,  she  thought 
of  other  things  she  might  need,  grasped  her  tooth 
brushes  and  thrust  them  in  her  corset.  She  would  cer 
tainly  need  a  comb.  She  added  that  —  a  powder  bag 
and  lace  collar  lying  on  the  bureau  were  also  saved. 
Her  hair  was  tumbling  down.  She  thought  of  hair 
pins  and  tucking  comb  and  added  them. 

Her  grandmother  in  alarm  came  back  to  find  her. 
They  decided  between  them  to  fill  a  pillow  case  with  lit 
tle  things  they  would  certainly  need. 

There  was  a  lull  in  the  shelling.  Jennie's  maids 
rushed  back  in  terror  at  being  left  alone. 

The  guns  again  opened  with  redoubled  fury.  Still 
bent  on  saving  something  Jennie  grabbed  two  soiled 
underskirts  and  an  old  cloak  and  once  more  dragged 
her  grandmother  to  the  door. 

Five  big  shells  sailed  squarely  over  the  house  at  the 
same  moment.  They  seemed  to  swing  in  circles,  spiral- 
shaped  like  corkscrews.  The  dull  whiz  and  swish  of 
their  flight  made  the  most  blood-curdling  unearthly 
noise.  Her  grandmother  fumbled  at  the  door  trying 
to  turn  the  bolt  of  the  unused  lock. 
20  289 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Don't  fool  with  that  door,  grandma !  "  Jennie  cried 
— "  run  —  run  —  you'll  be  killed." 

"  I  won't  run !  "  the  old  lady  said  with  firm  decision. 
"  I'll  go  down  there  and  tell  those  cowards  what  I 
think  of  their  firing  on  women  and  children  — " 

A  big  sheW  whizzed  past  the  house  and  grandma 
jumped  behind  a  pillar.  She  was  painfully  deaf  to 
human  speech  —  but  the  whiz  of  that  shell  found  her 
nerves.  They  ran  now  without  looking  back  —  ran  at 
least  for  a  hundred  yards  until  the  poor  old  lady  could 
run  no  more  and  then  walked  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

They  were  at  last  on  the  main  country  road,  leading 
out  of  town.  Hurrying  terror-stricken  people,  young, 
old,  black  and  white,  were  passing  them  every  moment 
now. 

A  mile  and  a  half  out  her  grandmother  broke  down 
completely.  A  gentleman  passing  in  a  buggy  took 
pity  on  her  gray  hairs  and  lifted  her  to  the  seat  by  his 
side  while  his  own  little  ones  crouched  at  her  feet. 

Jennie  waved  her  hand  as  they  drove  off: 

"  I'll  find  you  somewhere,  grandma  dear  —  don't 
worry ! " 

Another  mile  she  trudged  with  Mandy  and  Lucy 
clinging  to  her  skirts  and  then  sat  down  to  rest.  Her 
nerves  were  slowly  recovering  their  poise  and  she  be 
gan  to  laugh  at  the  funny  sights  the  terror-stricken 
people  presented  at  every  turn. 

A  cart  approached  pried  high  with  household  goods. 

"  Let's  ride,  Mandy !  "  Jennie  cried. 

"  Yassam,  dat's  what  I  says,  too,"  the  little  black 
maid  eagerly  agreed. 

The  cart  belonged  to  a  neighbor.  It  was  driven  by 
an  old  negro  man. 

"  Let  us  ride,  uncle !  "  Jennie  called. 

The  old  man  pulled  his  reins  quickly  and  laughed 
good-naturedly. 

290 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


"  Dat  you  shall,  Honey.  De  name  er  Gawd,  ter  see 
Miss  Jennie  Barton  settin'  here  in  dis  dirty  road !  " 

He  helped  them  climb  to  seats  on  the  top  of  his  load. 
Jennie  found  a  berth  between  a  flour  barrel  and  mat 
tress,  while  Mandy  sat  astride  of  an  enormous  bundle 
of  bed  clothes.  Lucy  scrambled  up  beside  the  driver. 

The  hot  sun  was  pouring  its  fierce  rays  down  without 
mercy.  The  old  negro  pulled  a  faded  umbrella  from 
beneath  his  seat,  raised  it,  and  handed  it  to  Jennie  with 
a  grand  bow. 

"  Thank  you,  uncle.  You  certainly  are  good  to 
us!" 

"  Yassam  —  yassam  —  I  wish  I  could  do  mo',  honey 
chile.  De  ve'y  idee  er  dem  slue-footed  Yankees  er 
shellin'  our  town  an'  scerin'  all  our  ladies  ter  death. 
Dey  gwine  ter  pay  fur  all  dis  'fore  dey  git  through." 

Three  miles  out  they  began  to  overtake  the  mam 
body  of  the  fugitives  who  escaped  at  the  first  mad  rush. 
Hundreds  of  bedraggled  women  and  children  were  toil 
ing  along  the  dust-covered  road  in  the  blistering  sun, 
some  bareheaded,  some  with  hats  on,  some  with  street 
clothes,  others  with  their  morning  wrappers  just  as 
they  had  fled  from  their  unfinished  breakfast. 

Little  girls  of  eight  and  ten  and  twelve  were  wander 
ing  along  through  the  suffocating  dust  alone. 

Jennie  called  to  one  she  knew: 

"  Where's  your  mother,  child?  " 

The  girl   shook   her   dust-powdered   head. 

"  I  don't  know,  m'am." 

"  Where  are  you  going?  " 

"  To  walk  on  till  I  find  her." 

Her  mother  was  wandering  with  distracted  cries 
among  the  crowds  a  mile  in  the  rear  looking  for  a  nurs 
ing  baby  she  had  lost  in  the  excitement. 

Jennie's  eyes  kindled  at  the  sight  of  faithful  negroes 
everywhere  lugging  the  treasures  of  their  mistresses. 

291 


THE  VICTIM 


She  began  asking  them  what  they  were  carrying  just 
to  hear  the  answer  that  always  came  with  a  touch  of 
loyal  pride. 

"  Dese  is  my  missy's  clothes!  I  sho  weren't  gwine 
let  dem  Yankees  steal  dem !  " 

"  Didn't  you  save  any  of  your  own  things  ?  " 

"  Didn't  have  time  ter  git  mine ! " 

They  came  to  a  guerilla  camp.  Men  and  horses 
were  resting  on  either  side  of  the  road.  Some  of  them 
were  carrying  water  to  their  horses  or  to  the  women 
who  cooked  about  their  camp  fires.  The  scene  looked 
like  a  monster  barbecue.  These  irregular  troops  of  the 
South  were  friends  in  time  of  need  to-day. 

They  crowded  the  road,  asking  for  news  and  com 
menting  freely  on  the  shelling  of  the  city. 

A  rough-looking  fellow  pushed  his  way  to  Jennie's 
cart. 

"  When  did  they  begin  firin'?  " 

"  Just  after  breakfast." 

Yesterday  she  would  have  resented  the  familiar  tones 
in  which  this  uncouth  illiterate  countryman  spoke 
without  the  formality  of  an  introduction.  In  this  hour 
of  common  peril  he  was  a  Knight  entering  the  lists 
wearing  her  colors. 

He  didn't  mince  words  in  expressing  his  opinions. 

"  It's  your  own  fault  if  you've  saved  nothing.  The 
people  in  Baton  Rouge  must  have  been  damned  fools 
not  to  know  trouble  wuz  comin'  with  them  gunboats 
lyin'  thar  with  their  big-mouthed  cannon  gapin'  right 
into  the  streets.  If  the  men  had  had  any  sense  women 
wouldn't  a  been  drove  into  the  woods  like  this  — " 

"  But  they  had  no  warning.  They  began  to  shell 
us  without  a  minute's  notice  — " 

His  rough  fist  closed  and  his  heavy  jaw  came  together 
with  a  grinding  sound. 

"  Waal,  you're  ruined  —  so  am  I  —  and  my  broth- 
292 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


ers  and  all  our  people,  too.     There's  nothin'  left  now 
except  to  die  —  and  I'll  do  it !  " 

The  girl  clapped  her  hands. 

"  I  wish  I  could  go  with  you !  " 

He  turned  back  toward  his  camp  fire  with  a  shake  of 
his  unkempt  head. 

"  Die  fighting  for  us !  "  Jennie  cried. 

He  waved  his  black  powder-stained  hand: 

"  That  I  will,  little  girl !  " 

The  rough  figure  rose  in  the  unconscious  dignity 
with  which  he  waved  his  arm  and  pledged  his  word  to 
fight  to  the  death.  War  had  leveled  all  ranks. 

The  talk  on  the  road  was  all  of  burning  homes,  build 
ings  demolished,  famine,  murder,  and  death. 

Jennie  suddenly  found  herself  singing  a  lot  of  Meth 
odist  Camp  Meeting  hymns  with  an  utterly  foolish  hap 
piness  surging  through  her  heart. 

She  led  off  with  "  Better  days  are  coming.''9  Mandy 
was  still  too  scared  to  sing  the  chorus  of  this  first 
hymn  but  she  joined  softly  in  the  next.  It  was  one  of 
her  favorites: 

"  I  hope  to  die  shoutin' —  the  Lord  will  provide." 

The  old  man  driving  the  cart  kept  time  with  a  strange 
undertone  of  interpolation  all  his  own.  The  one  he 
loved  best  he  repeated  again  and  again. 

"  I'm  a  runnin' —  a  runnin'  up  ter  glory !  " 

How  could  she  be  happy  amid  a  scene  of  such  deso 
lation  and  suffering?  She  tried  to  reproach  herself 
and  somehow  couldn't  be  sorry.  A  vision  of  something 
mgre  wonderful  than  houses  and  land,  goods  and  chat 
tels,  slaves  and  systems  of  government,  had  made  her 
heart  beat  with  sudden  joy  and  her  eyes  sparkle  with 
happiness.  It  was  only  the  picture  of  a  dark  slender 
young  fellow  who  had  never  spoken  a  word  of  love  that 
flashed  before  her.  And  yet  the  vision  had  wrought  a 
spell  that  transformed  the  world. 

293 


THE  VICTIM 


The  guns  no  longer  echoed  behind  them.  A  courier 
came  dashing  from  the  city  at  sunset  asking  the  people 
to  return  to  their  homes. 

Two  old  men  had  rowed  out  to  the  war  ships  during 
the  bombardment.  They  called  to  the  commander  of 
the  flagship  as  they  pushed  their  skiff  alongside: 

"  There  are  no  men  in  town,  sir  —  you're  only  kill 
ing  women  and  children !  " 

The  commander  leaned  over  the  rail  of  his  gunboat. 

"  I'm  sorry,  gentlemen.  I  thought,  of  course,  your 
town  had  been  evacuated  before  your  men  were  fools 
enough  to  fire  on  my  marines.  I've  shelled  your  streets 
to  intimidate  them." 

The  firing  ceased.  The  order  to  shell  the  city  had 
been  caused  by  four  guerillas  firing  on  a  yawl  which 
was  about  to  land  without  a  flag  of  truce.  Their  vol 
ley  killed  and  wounded  three. 

"  These  four  men,"  shouted  the  elders  from  the  skiff, 
"  were  the  only  soldiers  in  town !  " 

One  woman  had  been  killed  and  three  wounded. 
Twenty  houses  had  been  pierced  by  shells  and  two  lit 
tle  children  drowned  in  their  flight.  A  baby  had  been 
born  in  the  woods  and  died  of  the  exposure. 

It  was  three  o'clock  next  day  before  Jennie  reached 
home,  her  grandmother  utterly  oblivious  of  her  own 
discomforts  but  complaining  bitterly  because  she  could 
hear  nothing  from  the  old  Colonel  who  had  found  it  im 
possible  to  leave  New  Orleans.  They  had  not  been  sep 
arated  so  long  since  the  Mexican  war.  Jennie  com 
forted  her  as  best  she  could,  put  her  to  bed,  and  took 
refuge  in  a  tub  of  cold  water. 

The  dusty  road  had  peeled  the  skin  off  both  her  heels 
but  no  matter  —  thank  God,  she  was  at  home  again. 

Orders  were  issued  now  from  the  Federal  comman 
dant  for  the  government  of  the  town.  No  person  was 
permitted  to  leave  without  a  pass.  All  families  were 

294 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


prohibited  to  leave  —  except  persons  separated  by  the 
former  exodus.  Cannon  were  planted  in  every  street. 
Five  thousand  soldiers  had  been  thrown  into  the  city, 
General  Williams  commanding.  Any  house  unoccupied 
by  its  owners  would  be  used  by  the  soldiers. 

Jennie  decided  to  stick  to  the  house  at  all  hazards 
until  forced  to  go.  She  walked  down  town  to  the  post 
office  in  the  vain  hop£  a  letter  might  have  come  through 
from  New  Orleans  to  her  grandmother.  Soldiers  were 
lounging  in  the  streets  in  squads  of  forty  and  fifty.  A 
crowd  was  playing  cards  in  the  ditch  and  swearing  as 
they  fought  the  flies.  Crowds  of  soldiers  relieved  from 
duty  were  marching  aimlessly  along  the  street.  Some 
were  sleeping  on  the  pavements,  others  sprawled  flat  on 
their  backs  in  the  sun,  heads  pillowed  in  each  other's  lap. 

To  her  surprise  a  letter  addressed  in  the  familar 
handwriting  of  her  brother  was  handed  out  at  the  post 
office  by  the  young  soldier  in  charge. 

The  seal  had  been  broken. 

Jennie's  eyes  flashed  with  rage. 

"  How  dare  you  open  and  read  my  letter,  sir !  "  she 
cried  with  indignation. 

"  I'm  sorry,  Miss,"  he  answered  politely.  "  We're 
only  soldiers.  Our  business  is  to  obey  orders." 

Jennie  blushed  furiously. 

"  Of  course,  I  beg  your  pardon.  I  wasn't  thinking 
when  I  spoke." 

She  read  the  letter  with  eager  interest : 

"Dearest  little  Sister: 

"  You  must  bring  grandmother  to  New  Orleans  at  the 
earliest  possible  opportunity.  Grandpa  can't  get  out.  He 
is  as  restless  and  unhappy  as  a  caged  tiger.  Do  come 
quickly.  If  you  need  money  let  me  know.  Hoping  soon  to 
see  you.  With  a  heart  full  of  love, 

"  Your  big  brother, 

"  ROGER." 
295 


THE  VICTIM 


It  would  be  best.  Her  grandmother  would  be  safe 
there  in  any  event.  If  our  troops  again  captured  New 
Orleans  she  would  be  in  the  house  of  the  South.  If 
the  Federal  army  still  held  it,  she  was  at  home  in  her 
grandson's  house. 

The  wildest  rumors  were  flying  thick.  No  passes 
would  be  issued  to  leave  the  city  on  any  pretext. 
Beauregard  was  reported  about  to  move  his  army  from 
Corinth  to  attack  Baton  Rouge. 

The  troops  were  massing  for  the  defense  of  the  city. 
The  Federal  cavalry  had  scoured  the  country  for  ten 
miles  in  search  of  guerillas. 

Through  all  the  turmoil  and  confusion  of  the  wildly 
disordered  house  Jennie  kept  repeating  the  foolish  old 
hymn  in  soft  monotones: 

"  /  hope  to  die  shouting  —  the  Lord  will  provide!  " 

General  Williams  sent  a  guard  to  protect  the  house. 
A  file  of  six  soldiers  marched  to  the  gate  and  their  com 
mander  saluted: 

"  Madam,  the  pickets  await  your  orders." 

General  Williams  had  met  her  brother  in  New  Or 
leans.  His  loyalty  was  enough  to  mark  the  beautiful 
old  homestead  for  protection. 

Jennie  laughed.  It  was  a  funny  situation  were  it 
not  so  tragic.  Her  father  and  three  brothers  fighting 
these  men  with  tooth  and  nail  while  an  officer  saluted 
and  put  his  soldiers  at  her  command. 

Butler's  men  were  arresting  the  aged  citizens  of 
Baton  Rouge  now.  Without  charge  or  warrant  they 
were  hustled  on  the  transports,  hurried  to  New 
Orleans  and  thrown  into  jail.  Jennie  ground  her  white 
teeth  with  rage: 

"  Oh,  to  be  ruled  by  such  a  wretch !  " 

From  the  first  day  he  had  set  foot  on  the  soil  of 
Louisiana  Butler  had  made  himself  thoroughly  loathed. 
His  order  reflecting  on  the  character  of  the  women  of 

296 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


New  Orleans  had  not  only  shocked  the  South,  it  had 
roused  the  indignation  of  the  civilized  world. 

A  proud  and  sensitive  people  had  no  redress. 

One  of  the  first  six  citizens  sentenced  to  prison  in 
Fort  Jackson  was  Dr.  Craven,  the  Methodist  minister, 
A  soldier  nosing  about  his  house  at  night  had  heard 
the  preacher  at  family  prayers.  He  had  asked  God's 
blessing  on  the  cause  of  the  South  while  kneeling  in 
prayer.  When  Jennie  heard  of  it,  she  cried  through 
her  tears: 

"  Show  me  a  dungeon  deep  enough  to  keep  me  from 
praying  for  my  brothers  who  are  fighting  for  us !  " 

The  speech  of  Butler  which  had  gone  farthest  and 
sank  deepest  into  the  outraged  souls  of  the  people  of 
Southern  Louisiana  was  his  defiant  utterance  to  Solo 
mon  Benjamin  on  the  threat  of  England  to  intervene 
in  our  struggle: 

"  Let  England  or  France  dare  to  try  it,"  Butler  swore 
in  a  towering  rage,  "  and  I'll  be  damned  if  I  don't  arm 
every  negro  in  the  South  and  make  them  cut  the  throats 
of  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  it.  I'll  make  them 
lay  this  country  waste  with  fire  and  sword  and  leave  it 
desolate." 

That  Butler  was  capable  of  using  his  enormous  power 
as  the  Military  Governor  of  Louisiana  to  accomplish 
this  purpose,  no  one  who  had  any  knowledge  of  the 
man  or  his  methods  doubted  for  a  moment. 

On  the  slightest  pretexts  he  arrested  whom  he  pleased, 
male  and  female,  and  threw  them  into  prison.  Aged 
men  who  had  incurred  his  displeasure  were  confined  at 
hard  labor  with  ball  and  chain.  Men  were  imprisoned 
in  Fort  Jackson,  whose  only  offense  was  the  giving  of 
medicine  to  sick  Confederate  soldiers.  The  wife  of  a 
former  member  of  Congress  was  arrested  and  sent  to 
Ship  Island  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Her  only  offense 
was  that  she  laughed  at  some  foolish  thing  that  marked 

297 


THE  VICTIM 


the  progress  of  a  funeral  procession  through  the  streets 
of  thfe  city. 

On  his  offifce  wall  in  the  St.  Charles  Hotel  Butler  had 
inscribed  in  huge  letters: 

"THERE    IS    NO    DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN    A 
HE  AND  A  SHE  ADDER  IN  THEIR  VENOM." 

His  henchmen  were  allowed  to  indulge  their  rapacity 
at  will.  The  homes  of  distinguished  men  and  women 
were  seized  on  any  pretext  and  turned  into  disreputable 
establishments  which  were  run  for  gain.  They  appro 
priated  the  contents  of  wine  cellars,  plundered  the  ward 
robes  and  dining-rooms  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  to  their 
hearts'  content.  Fines  were  levied  and  collected  in 
many  cases  where  it  could  be  secured.  Those  who  re 
fused  to  pay  were  given  the  choice  of  ball  and  chain. 
A  thriving  trade  in  cotton  was  opened  against  the  posi 
tive  orders  of  the  Washington  Government.  Butler's 
own  brother  was  the  thrifty  banker  and  broker  of  this 
corrupt  transaction. 

Property  was  "  confiscated  "  right  and  left,  provi 
sions  and  military  stores  were  exchanged  for  cotton. 
The  chief  of  this  regime  of  organized  plunder  lived  in 
daily  fear  of  assassination.  It  was  said  he  wore  secret 
armor.  He  never  ventured  out  except  heavily  guarded. 
In  his  office  several  pistols  lay  beside  him  and  the  chair 
on  which  his  visitor  was  seated  was  chained  to  the  wall 
to  prevent  someone  suddenly  rising  and  smashing  his 
brains  out. 

There  were  ten  thousand  soldiers  in  Baton  Rouge 
now  though  the  anticipated  attack  of  the  Confeder 
ates  had  not  materialized.  Perhaps  they  had  heard  of 
the  heavy  reinforcements  in  time.  The  poor  fellows 
from  the  cool  hills  and  mountains  of  the  North  were  dy 
ing  in  hundreds  in  the  blistering  July  sun  of  the  South. 
They  didn't  know  how  to  take  care  of  themselves  and 

298 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


their  officers  didn't  seem  to  care.  Butler  was  a  lawyer 
and  a  politician  first  —  a  general  only  when  the  navy 
had  done  his  work  for  him. 

Jennie  saw  hundreds  of  these  sick  and  dying  men  ly 
ing  on  their  backs  in  the  broiling  sun,  waiting  for  wag 
ons  to  carry  them  to  the  hospital.  One  had  died  abso 
lutely  alone  without  a  human  being  near  to  notice  or 
to  care.  The  girl's  heart  was  sick  with  anguish 
at  the  sight  of  scores  too  weak  to  lift  their  hands  to 
fight  the  ravenous  flies  swarming  in  their  eyes  and 
mouths.  All  day  and  all  night  Baumstark,  the  little 
undertaker,  was  working  with  half  a  dozen  aides  making 
coffins. 

Day  and  night  they  died  like  dogs  with  no  human 
help  extended.  The  Catholic  priest  who  had  not  been 
arrested  as  yet,  passing  among  them  in  search  of  his 
own,  bent  for  a  moment  over  a  dying  soldier  and  spoke 
in  friendly  tones.  The  poor  fellow  burst  into  tears 
and  with  his  last  gasp  cried : 

"  Thank  God !  I  have  heard  one  kind  word  before  I 
die !  " 

The  Federal  pickets  were  driven  in  at  last,  and  the 
guard  around  the  house  withdrawn.  General  Williams 
insisted  that  Jennie  and  her  grandmother  find  a  place 
of  refuge  more  secure  than  the  coming  battlefield. 

They  thanked  the  General  but  decided  to  brave  battle 
at  home  to  the  terrors  of  another  flight. 

The  little  band  of  twenty-five  hundred  Confederates 
struck  the  town  like  a  thunderbolt  and  fought  with 
desperation  against  the  combined  fleet  and  heavy  garri 
son.  They  drove  the  Federals  at  first  in  panic  to  the 
water's  edge  and  the  shelter  of  the  cannon  until  a 
Maine  regiment  barred  the  way,  fighting  like  demons, 
and  rallied  the  fleeing  mob.  When  the  smoke  of  battle 
lifted  the  gray  army  had  gone  with  the  loss  of  only 
sixty-five  killed  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  wounded. 

299 


THE  VICTIM 


The  worst  calamity  which  befell  Baton  Rouge  was 
the  death  of  General  Williams,  the  gentlemanly  and 
considerate  Federal  commander. 

Butler's  man  who  took  his  place  lacked  both  his  sol 
dierly  training  and  his  fine  scruples  as  a  Christian  gen 
tleman.  There  were  no  more  guards  placed  around 
«  Rebel  "  homes. 

The  marauder  came  with  swift  sure  tread  on  the 
heels  of  victory. 

A  squad  of  officers  and  men  smashed  in  the  front  door 
at  Fairview  without  so  much  as  a  knock  for  signal. 
To  the  shivering  servant  who  stood  in  the  hall  the 
leader  called: 

"Where  are  the  damned  secesh  women?  We  know 
they've  hid  in  here  and  we'll  make  them  dance  for  hid 
ing—" 

Jennie  suddenly  appeared  in  the  library  door,  her 
face  white,  her  hand  concealed  in  the  pocket  of  her 
dress. 

"  There  are  but  two  women  here,  gentlemen,"  she 
began  steadily  — "  my  grandmother  and  I.  The 
house  is  at  your  mercy  — " 

The  man  in  front  gave  a  short  laugh  and  advanced 
on  the  girl.  He  stopped  short  in  his  tracks  at  the  sight 
of  the  glitter  of  her  eye  and  changed  his  mind. 

"  All  right,  look  out  for  the  old  hen.  We'll  let  you 
know  when  it's  time  to  pick  up  the  pieces." 

Jennie  returned  to  the  library  and  slipped  her  arm 
about  her  grandmother's  neck  standing  beside  her  chair 
while  she  set  her  little  jaw  firmly  and  waited  for  the 
<end. 

They  rushed  the  dining-room  first  and  split  its  side 
board  open  with  axes  —  fine  old  carved  mahogany 
pieces  so  hardened  with  age,  the  ax  blades  chipped  from 
the  blows  as  if  striking  marble.  The  china  was  smashed 

300 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


chests  were  laid  open  with  axes,  and  their  contents  of 
silver  removed. 

They  rushed  the  parlors  and  stripped  them  of  every 
ornament.  Jennie's  piano  they  dragged  into  the  center 
of  the  floor,  smashed  its  ivory  keys  and  split  its  rose 
wood  case  into  splinters.  An  officer  slashed  the  por 
trait  of  Mrs.  Barton  into  shreds  and  hurled  the  frame 
on  the  floor.  Every  portrait  on  the  walls  shared  a 
similar  fate. 

Upstairs  the  fun  grew  wild.  Mrs.  Barton's  beauti 
ful  old  mahogany  armoir  whose  single  door  was  a 
fine  French  mirror  was  shivered  with  a  blow  from 
a  sledge  hammer,  emptied  of  every  article  and  the 
shelves  splintered  with  axes.  They  broke  every  bureau 
and  case  of  drawers,  scattered  their  contents  on  the 
floor,  selecting  what  suited  their  fancy.  Every  rag  of 
the  boys'  clothes,  the  old  Colonel's  and  Senator  Bar 
ton's  were  tied  in  bundles. 

They  entered  Jennie's  room,  broke  every  mirror,  tore 
down  the  rods  from  the  bed  and  ripped  the  net  into 
shreds.  The  desk  was  split,  letters  turned  out  and 
scattered  over  the  floor.  A  light  sewing  machine  was 
sent  below  for  a  souvenir.  The  heavy  one  was  broken 
with  an  ax. 

From  Jennie's  bureau  they  tore  a  pink  flowered  mus 
lin,  stuck  it  on  a  bayonet  and  paraded  the  room,  the  of 
ficers  striking  it  with  their  swords  shouting  their  dull 
insults : 

"  I've  struck  the  damned  secesh !  " 

"  The  proud  little  hellion !  " 

"  That's  the  time  I  cut  her!  " 

One  seized  her  bonnet,  put  it  on,  tied  the  ribbon 
under  his  chin  and  amid  the  shouts  of  his  half-drunken 
companions,  paraded  the  house,  and  wore  it  into  the 
streets  when  he  left. 

When  the  noise  had  died  away  and  the  house  was  still 
301 


THE  VICTIM 


at  last,  Jennie  came  forth  from  the  little  room  in  which 
she  had  taken  refuge,  leading  her  grandmother.  Hand 
in  hand  they  viewed  the  wreck. 

The  thing  that  hurt  the  girl  most  of  all  was  the  ruin 
of  her  desk  —  her  letters  from  Dick  Welford,  the  boys, 
her  father  and  mother,  the  diary  she  had  kept  with  the 
intimate  secrets  of  her  young  heart  —  all  had  been 
opened,  thumbed  and  thrown  over  the  floor.  The  little 
perfumed  notes  she  had  received  from  her  first  beaux  — 
invitations  to  buggy  rides,  concerts,  and  parties,  and 
all  of  them  beginning,  "  Compliments  of  " —  had  been 
profaned  by  dirty  greasy  fingers.  Some  were  torn 
into  little  bits-  and  scattered  over  the  room,  others 
were  ground  into  the  floor  by  hobnails  in  heavy  boot 
heels. 

Her  last  letter  from  Socola  was  stolen  —  to  be  turned 
over  to  the  commander  for  inspection  no  doubt.  And 
then  she  broke  into  a  foolish  laugh.  The  strain  was 
over.  What  did  it  matter  —  this  clutter  of  goods  and 
chattels  on  the  floor  —  she  was  young  —  it  was  the 
morning  of  life  and  she  had  met  her  fate! 

In  a  sudden  rush  of  emotion  she  threw  her  arms 
around  her  grandmother's  neck  and  cried : 

"  Thank  the  good  Lord,  grandma,  they  didn't  shoot 
you !  " 

The  sweet  old  lady  was  strangely  quiet,  and  her  eyes 
had  a  queer  set  look.  She  bore  the  strain  without  a 
break  until  they  entered  the  wreck  of  the  stately  parlor. 
She  saw  the  slashed  portrait  of  the  Colonel  lying 
on  the  floor  and  sank  in  a  heap  beside  it  without  a  word 
or  sound. 

Jennie  succeeded  at  last  in  obtaining  a  pass  to  New 
Orleans,  consigning  the  body  to  Judge  Roger  Barton. 
She  stepped  on  board  the  little  steamer  absolutely 
alone.  Every  servant  had  gone  to  the  camp  of  the  sol 
diers  or  had  entered  the  service  of  the  crowd  of  maraud- 

302 


THE  BOMBARDMENT 


ers  who  decided  to  return  to  Fairview  and  occupy  the 
house. 

Jennie  had  gone  through  so  much  the  tired  spirit  re 
fused  to  respond  to  further  sensations.  She  obeyed 
orders  in  a  dumb  mechanical  way. 

The  officers  at  New  Orleans  opened  her  baggage  and1 
searched  it  without  ceremony,  or  the  slightest  show  of 
interest  on  her  part. 

They  were  administering  the  "  oath  "  of  loyalty  to 
the  United  States.  She  would  have  to  turn  Yankee  to 
do  this  last  duty  of  love.  She  covered  her  face  with  her 
hands  and  prayed  breathlessly  for  the  boys  and  for  the 
Confederacy  while  the  words  of  the  oath  were  mumbled 
by  the  officer  — 

"  So  help  you  God?  " 

Jennie's  only  answer  was  to  close  her  eyes  and  pray 
harder. 

"  So  help  you  God  ?  "  the  officer  shouted  again. 

The  girl  lifted  her  tear-stained  face  and  nodded, 
closed  her  eyes  again  and  prayed. 

"  Help  them,  O  God, —  my  brothers  Tom  and  Jimmie 
and  Billy  and  Dick  Welford  —  and  —  and  the  man  I 
love  —  save  them  and  their  cause  for  Jesus'  sake  —  I 
don't  know  what  they  made  me  say  —  I  only  did  it  for 
poor  grandpa's  sake  —  I  didn't  mean  it.  Forgive  me, 
dear  Lord,  and  save  my  people ! " 

The  Judge  met  them  with  a  carriage  and  hearse. 
He  slipped  his  strong  arm  around  the  girl,  drew  her 
close  and  kissed  the  waving  brown  hair  again  and  again. 

"  Dear  little  sis  —  you're  at  home  now,"  he  said 
softly. 

A  shiver  ran  through  her  figure  and  she  sat  bolt  up 
right. 

"  No,  Big  Brother,"  she  answered  firmly,  "  I'm  not. 
New  Orleans  is  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  I'd  set  it 
on  fire  and  wipe  it  from  the  face  of  the  earth  to-morrow 

303 


THE  VICTIM 


if  I  could  sweep  old  Ben  Butler  and  his  men  into  the 
bottomless  pit  with  its  ashes  — " 

She  paused  at  the  look  of  pain  on  his  face. 

<4  Except  you  —  dear — 'you're  my  brother,  always 
my  dear  Big  Brother  and  I'll  love  you  forever.  What 
you  think  right  is  right  —  for  you.  You  are  for  the 
Union,  because  you  believe  it's  right.  I  honor  you  for 
!}eing  true  to  your  convictions  — " 

"  You  can  never  know  what  it  has  cost  me  — 
Honey  — " 

She  drew  him  down  and  kissed  him  tenderly. 

"  Yes,  I  do  know  —  and  it's  all  right  —  even  if  you 
draw  your  sword  and  meet  us  in  battle  —  you're  fight 
ing  for  the  right  as  God  shows  it  to  you  —  but  I've  just 
one  favor  to  ask  — " 

"  I'll  do  anything  on  earth  for  you  I  can  —  you 
know  that  — " 

She  looked  at  him  steadily  a  moment  in  silence  and 
spoke  in  hard  cold  tones. 

"  Get  me  ou«t  of  New  Orleans  inside  the  Confederate 

lines  —  anywhere  —  a  guerilla  camp a  swamp  — 

anywhere,  you  understand.  I'll  find  my  way  to  Rich 
mond  — " 

He  pressed  her  hand  in  silence  and  then  softly  an 
swered  : 

"  I  understand,  dear  —  and  I'll  arrange  it  for  you. 
I'll  hire  a  schooner  to  set  you  across  Lake  Pontchar- 
train." 

The  old  Colonel  looked  on  the  face  of  his  dead  wife 
and  went  to  bed.  He  made  no  complaints.  He  asked 
no  questions.  The  book  of  life  was  closed.  Within  a 
week  he  died  as  peacefully  as  a  child. 

Ten  days  later  Jennie  had  passed  the  Federal  lines 
and  was  whirling  through  the  Carolinas,  her  soul  aflame 
with  a  new  deathless  courage. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  IRREPARABLE  LOSS 

Jefferson  Davis  not  only  refused  to  remove  Albert 
Sidney  Johnston  from  his  command  in  answer  to  the 
clamor  of  his  critics,  he  wrote  his  general  letters  ex 
pressing  such  unbounded  confidence  in  his  genius  that 
he  inspired  him  to  begin  the  most  brilliant  campaign 
on  which  the  South  had  yet  entered. 

Grant,  flushed  with  victory,  had  encamped  his  army 
along  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee,  then  at  flood  and  eas 
ily  navigable  for  gunboats  and  transports.  The  bull 
dog  fighter  of  Fort  Donelson  had  allowed  his  maxim  of 
war  to  lead  him  into  a  situation  which  the  eye  of  John 
ston  was  quick  to  see. 

Grant's  famous  motto  was: 

"  Never  be  over  anxious  about  what  your  enemy  is 
going  to  do  to  you ;  make  him  anxious  about  what  you 
are  going  to  do  to  him." 

In  accordance  with  this  principle  the  Union  General 
was  busy  preparing  his  Grand  Army  for  a  triumphant 
march  into  the  far  South.  He  was  drilling  and  train 
ing  his  men  for  their  attack  on  the  Confederates  at 
Corinth.  His  army  was  not  in  a  position  for  defense. 
It  was,  in  fact,  strung  out  into  a  long  line  of  camps 
for  military  instruction,  preparing  to  advance  on  the 
foe  he  had  grown  to  despise. 

Sherman's  division  occupied  a  position  near  Shiloh 
Church.  A  half  mile  further  was  B.  M.  Prentiss  with 
newly  arrived  regiments,  one  of  which  still  had  no  am 
munition.  Near  the  river  McClernand  was  camped 
21  305 


THE  VICTIM 


behind  Sherman  and  Hurlbert  still  farther  back.  Near 
them  lay  W.  H.  L.  Wallace's  division,  and  at  Crump's 
Landing,  Lew  Wallace  was  stationed  with  six  thousand 
men. 

Grant  himself  was  nine  miles  down  the  river  at  Savan 
nah,  a  point  at  which  he  expected  to  form  a  junction 
with  Buell's  army  approaching  from  the  east. 

Grant  sat  at  breakfast  on  a  beautiful  Sunday  morn 
ing  quietly  sipping  his  coffee  while  he  planned  his  con 
quest  of  the  vast  territory  which  now  lay  at  the  mercy 
of  his  army  the  moment  the  juncture  should  be  ef 
fected. 

With  swift  stealthy  tread,  Johnston  was  moving 
through  the  dense  forests  of  the  wild  region  to  the 
south.  His  army  had  been  rapidly  recruited  to  ap 
proximately  forty  thousand  effective  men.  Beaure- 
gard  had  been  detached  from  the  East  and  was  second 
in  command. 

The  night  before  this  beautiful  spring  Sabbath  morn 
ing  the  Confederate  army  had  bivouacked  within  two 
miles  of  the  Federal  front.  Johnston  had  so  baffled  the 
scouts  and  reconnoitering  parties  of  Grant  that  his 
presence  was  not  suspected. 

In  the  gray  mists  of  the  dawn  his  divisions  silently 
deployed  and  formed  in  line  of  battle.  General  Leoni- 
das  Polk  on  the  left,  Braxton  Bragg  in  the  center,  Wil 
liam  J.  Hardee  on  the  right  and  John  C.  Breckinridge 
in  reserve. 

The  men  were  alert  and  eager  to  avenge  the  defeats' 
of  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson.  With  chuckles  of  ex 
hilaration  they  had  listened  that  night  to  the  rolling  of 
the  drums  in  Grant's  camps. 

A  mist  from  the  river  valley  hung  low  over  the  fresh 
budding  trees.  With  swift  elastic  tread  the  gray  lines 
moved  forward  through  the  shadows  of  the  dawn. 

So  complete  was  the  surprise  that  not  a  picket 
306 


THE  IRREPARABLE  LOSS 

was  encountered.  Not  a  single  company  of  cavalry 
guarded  the  flanks  of  the  sleeping  army. 

The  mists  lifted  and  the  sheen  of  white  tents  could  be 
seen  through  the  trees. 

Only  a  few  of  the  blue  soldiers  had  risen.  They  were 
washing  and  cooking  their  morning  meal.  Some  had 
sat  down  to  eat  at  generous  mess-chests.  Thousands 
were  yet  soundly  sleeping  in  their  tents. 

On  Prentiss'  division  from  flank  to  flank  with  sudden 
fury  the  gray  host  fell.  Even  the  camp  sentinels  were 
taken  completely  by  surprise  and  barely  had  time  to 
discharge  their  guns.  On  their  heels  rushed  the  Con 
federates  cheering  madly. 

Officers  and  men  were  killed  in  their  beds  and  many 
fled  in  confusion  without  their  arms.  Hildebrand's  bri 
gade  of  Sherman's  division  was  engulfed  by  the  cyclone 
and  swept  from  existence,  appearing  no  more  in  the 
battle. 

In  vain  the  broken  lines  of  the  Federal  camps  were 
formed  and  reformed.  Charge  followed  charge  in 
swift  and  terrible  succession. 

By  half  past  ten  o'clock  the  Confederates  had  cap 
tured  and  demolished  three  great  military  encampments 
and  taken  three  batteries  of  artillery.  Storehouses 
and  munitions  of  war  in  rich  profusion  were  captured 
at  every  turn.  The  demoralized  Union  army  was  re 
treating  at  every  point. 

When  Grant  reached  the  field,  the  lines  both  of  attack 
and  defense  were  lost  in  confusion.  The  battle  raged 
in  groups.  Sometimes  mere  squads  of  men  surged  back 
and  forth  over  the  broken,  tangled,  blood-soaked  arena, 
now  in  ravines  and  swamps,  now  for  a  moment  emerging 
into  clearings  and  then  buried  again  in  the  deep  woods. 

The  stolid  Federal  commander  sat  his  horse,  keen- 
eyed,  vigilant  and  imperturbable  in  the  storm  of  ruin. 
His  early  efforts  counted  for  little  in  the  blind  confu- 

307 


THE  VICTIM 


sion  and  turmoil  of  his  crushed  army.  Lew  Wallace 
had  been  ordered  to  the  field  in  post  haste.  The  bridge 
across  Owl  Creek,  held  by  Sherman  in  the  morning1,  was 
now  in  the  hands  of  the  Confederates.  Wallace 
marched  and  countermarched  his  army  in  a  vain  effort 
to  reach  the  field. 

At  two  o'clock  Johnston  had  brought  up  his  reserves 
and  ordered  the  entire  gray  army  to  charge  and  sweep 
the  field.  His  fine  face  flushed  with  victory,  he  rose  in 
his  saddle,  addressed  a  few  eloquent  words  to  Breckin- 
ridge's  division,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  army 
and  his  sword  flashed  in  the  sunlight  as  he  shouted  to 
the  line: 

"Charge!" 

Dick  Welford  had  been  detached  from  Forrest's  cav 
alry  on  staff  duty  by  his  Chief's  side.  Forrest  had 
been  marked  by  Johnston  for  promotion  for  his  work 
at  Donelson,  and  Dick  had  grown  to  worship  his  gal 
lant  Commanding  General.  He  had  watched  his  plan 
of  battle  grow  with  boyish  pride.  He  knew  his  Chief 
was  going  to  crush  the  two  divisions  of  Grant's 
army  in  detail  before  they  could  be  united.  And  he 
had  done  it.  Such  complete  and  overwhelming  victory 
would  lift  the  South  from  her  slough  of  despair. 

With  a  shout  of  triumph  he  spurred  his  horse  neck 
to  neck  with  his  General. 

At  two  o'clock  the  blue  lines  were  still  rolling  back 
on  the  river  in  hopeless  confusion,  the  gray  lines  cheer 
ing  and  charging  and  crushing  without  mercy. 

A  ball  pierced  Johnston's  right  leg.  Dick  saw  his 
hand  drop  the  rein  for  an  instant  and  a  look  of  pain 
sweep  his  handsome  face. 

"  You're  wounded,  sir?  "  he  asked. 

"  It's  nothing,  boy,"  he  answered,  "  only  a  flesh  cut 
—  drive  —  drive  —  drive  them  !  " 

Without  pause  he  rode  on  and  on. 
308 


THE  IRREPARABLE  LOSS 

He  was  riding  the  white  horse  of  Death  —  an  artery 
had  been  cut  and  his  precious  life  was  slowly  but  surely 
ebbing  away. 

He  swayed  in  his  saddle  and  Dick  dashed  forward : 

"  General,  your  wound  must  be  dressed !  " 

Governor  Harris  of  Tennessee,  his  aide,  observed  him 
at  the  same  moment  and  spurred  his  horse  to  his  side. 

The  General  turned  his  dim  eyes  to  the  Governor  and 
gasped : 

"  I  fear  I'm  mortally  wounded  — " 

He  reeled  in  his  saddle  and  would  have  fallen  had  not 
Dick  caught  him  and  tenderly  lowered  him  to  the 
ground. 

The  brave  war  Governor  of  Terinessee  received  the 
falling  Commander  in  his  arms  and  helped  Dick  bear  him 
a  short  distance  from  the  field  into  a  deep  ravine. 

Dick  took  the  flask  of  whiskey  from  his  pocket  and 
pressed  it  to  his  lips  in  vain.  A  moment  and  he  was 
dead. 

In  a  passion  of  grief  the  boy  threw  his  arms  around 
his  beloved  Chief  and  called  through  his  tears  and 
groans : 

"  My  God,  General,  you  can't  die  —  you  mustn't 
die  now!  Don't  you  hear  the  boys  shouting?  They're 
driving  Grant's  army  into  the  river.  They've  avenged 
Donelson !  —  General  —  for  God's  sake  speak  to  me  — 
say  you  won't  die  —  you  can't,  you  can't  —  Oh, 
Lord  God,  save  his  precious  life! — " 

No  sign  or  answer  came.  His  breast  had  ceased  to 
move.  The  Governor  tenderly  lifted  the  grief-stricken 
boy  and  sent  him  with  his  General's  last  message. 

"  Find  Beauregard  and  tell  him  he  is  in  command  of 
the  field.  Not  a  word  of  the  death  of  the  Chief  until 
his  victory  is  complete." 

Dick  saluted  and  sprang  into  the  saddle. 

"  I  understand,,  sir." 

309 


THE  VICTIM 


It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  before  he  located  Gen 
eral  Beauregard  and  delivered  the  fateful  news. 

The  victorious  Confederate  army  had  furiously 
pressed  its  charge.  Johnston's  word  had  passed  from 
command  to  command. 

"  Forward  —  forward  —  let  every  order  be  for 
ward  !  " 

Everything  had  yielded  at  last  before  them.  From 
camp  to  camp,  from  rallying  point  to  rallying  point, 
the  Union  hosts  had  been  hurled,  division  piling  on  di 
vision  in  wild  confusion. 

Driven  headlong,  the  broken  ranks  were  thrown  in 
panic  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  Thousands  crouched 
in  ravines  and  sought  shelter  under  the  steep  bluffs  of 
the  river  banks.  Trampling  mobs  were  struggling  in 
vain  to  board  the  transports  and  cross  the  river.  The 
Federal  reserve  line  had  been  completely  crushed,  and 
the  entire  army,  driven  from  the  field  they  had  held 
that  morning,  were  huddled  in  a  confused  mass  of  a 
half  mile  around  the  Pittsburg  Landing. 

The  next  charge  of  the  Confederates  would  Lurl  the 
whole  army  into  the  river  or  they  must  surrender. 

The  gunboats  had  opened  in  vain.  They  were 
throwing  their  shells  a  mile  beyond  the  Confederate 
lines  where  they  fell  harmlessly. 

The  Confederate  division  commanders  were  gather 
ing  their  hosts  for  the  last  charge  at  sunset.  There 
was  yet  an  hour  of  daylight  in  which  to  end  the  strug 
gle  with  the  complete  annihilation  of  the  Union  army. 
Down  under  the  steep  banks  of  the  river's  edge  the  de 
moralized  remnants  of  the  shattered  divisions  were  al 
ready  stacking  their  arms  to  surrender.  They  had 
made  their  last  stand. 

General  Bragg  turned  to  his  side: 

"  Tell  Major  Stewart  of  the  twenty-first  Alabama  to 
advance  and  drive  the  enemy  into  the  river !  " 

310 


"  Dick  saluted  and  sprang  into  the  saddle — 
*  I  understand,  sir '  " 


THE  IRREPARABLE  LOSS 

The  aide  saluted. 

"  And  carry  that  order  along  the  whole  line !  " 

The  aide  put  spurs  to  his  horse  to  execute  the  com 
mand,  when  a  courier  dashed  up  from  General  Beaure- 
gard's  headquarters. 

"  Direct  me  to  General  Bragg !  " 

The  aide  pointed  to  the  General  and  rode  back  with 
Beauregard's  courier. 

"  General  Beauregard  orders  that  you  cease  fighting 
and  rest  your  men  to-night." 

Bragg  turned  his  rugged  dark  face  on  the  messenger 
with  a  scowl. 

"  You  have  promulgated  this  order  to  the  army?  )? 

"  I  have,  sir  — " 

"  If  you  had  not,  I  would  not  obey  it  — " 

He  paused  and  threw  one  hand  high  above  his  head. 

"  Our  victory  has  been  thrown  to  the  winds !  " 

The  sudden  and  inexplicable  abandonment  of  this 
complete  and  overwhelming  success  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  events  in  the  history  of  modern  warfare. 

The  men  bivouacked  on  the  field. 

The  blunder  was  fatal  and  irretrievable.  Even 
while  the  order  was  being  given  to  cease  firing  the  ad 
vance  guard  of  BuelPs  army  was  already  approaching 
the  other  bank  of  the  river.  Twenty-five  thousand 
fresh  men  under  cover  of  the  darkness  began  to  pour 
their  long  lines  into  position  to  save  Grant's  shat 
tered  ranks. 

As  night  fell  another  misfortune  was  on  the  way  to 
obscure  the  star  of  Beauregard.  His  soldiers,  elated 
with  their  wonderful  victory,  broke  into  disorderly 
plundering  of  the  captured  Federal  camps.  Except 
for  a  few  thousand  sternly  disciplined  troops  under 
Bragg's  command  the  whole  Southern  army  suddenly 
degenerated  into  a  mob  of  roving  plunderers,  mad  with 
folly.  In  the  rick  stores  of  the  Federal  army  thou- 

311 


THE  VICTIM 


sands  of  gallons  of  wines  and  liquors  were  found.  Hun 
dreds  of  gray  soldiers  became  intoxicated.  While 
scenes  of  the  wildest  revelry  and  disorder  were  being 
enacted  around  the  camp  fires,  Buell's  army  was  silently 
crossing  the  river  under  cover  of  the  night  and  forming 
in  line  of  battle  for  to-morrow's  baptism  of  blood. 

Albert  Sidney  Johnston's  body  lay  cold  in  death  — 
and  the  army  of  the  victorious  South  had  no  head. 
Better  had  there  been  no  second  general  of  full  rank  in 
the  field.  Either  of  Johnston's  division  commanders, 
Bragg,  Hardee,  Polk  or  Breckinridge,  would  have 
driven  Grant's  panic-stricken  mob  into  the  river  within 
an  hour  if  let  alone. 

But  the  little  hero  of  Bull  Run  of  the  flower-decked 
tent  halted  his  men  to  rest  for  the  night  at  the  very 
hour  of  the  day  when  Napoleon  ordered  his  first  charge 
on  one  of  his  immortal  battlefields. 

Beauregard  gave  his  foe  ample  time  for  breakfast 
next  morning.  The  sun  was  an  hour  high  in  the  heav 
ens  before  the  battle  was  joined. 

The  genius  of  Johnston  had  surprised  Grant  and 
rolled  his  army  back  on  the  river  —  never  pausing  for 
a  moment  to  give  him  time  to  rally  his  broken  ranks. 

But  when  Beauregard  leisurely  led  his  disorganized 
army  next  morning  against  Grant's  new  lines,  there  was 
no  shock,  no  surprise  —  the  line  was  ready.  His  panic- 
stricken  men  had  been  reorganized  and  massed  in  strong 
defensive  position  and  reenforced  by  the  divisions  of 
Generals  Nelson,  McCook,  Crittenden,  and  Thomas  of 
Buell's  army  —  twenty-five  thousand  strong. 

Lew  Wallace's  division  had  also  effected  the  junction 
and  the  Federal  front  presented  a  solid  wall  of  fifty- 
three  thousand  determined  men  against  whom  Beaure 
gard  must  now  throw  his  little  army  of  thirty  thousand 
effective  fighters. 

The  assault  was  made  with  dash  and  courage.  For 
312 


THE .  IRREPARABLE .  LOSS 

four  hours  the  battle  raged  with  fury.  The  shattered 
regiments  that  had  been  surprised  and  crushed  the  day 
before,  yielded  at  one  time  before  the  onslaughts  of  the 
Confederates.  By  noon  Beauregard  had  sent  into  the 
shambles  his  last  brigade  and  reserves  and  shortly  after 
wards  gave  his  first  order  to  withdraw  his  army. 

Breckinridge's  division  covered  the  retreat  and  there 
was  no  attempt  at  pursuit.  Grant  was  only  too  glad 
to  save  his  army.  The  first  great  battle  of  the  war  had 
been  fought  and  won  by  the  genius  of  the  South's 
commander  and  its  results  thrown  away  by  the  hero  of 
Bull  Run. 

Never  was  the  wisdom  of  a  great  leader  more  thor 
oughly  vindicated  than  was  Jefferson  Davis  in  the 
record  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  made  at  Shiloh.  The 
men  who  had  been  loudest  in  demanding  his  removal 
stood  dumb  before  the  story  of  his  genius. 

The  death  list  of  this  battle  sent  a  shiver  of  horror 
through  the  North  and  the  South.  All  other  battles 
of  the  war  were  but  skirmishes  to  this. 

The  Confederate  losses  in  killed,  wounded  and  miss 
ing  were  ten  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety-nine.  At 
Bull  Run  the  combined  armies  of  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
and  Beauregard  lost  but  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  sixty-four  men. 

Grant's  army  lost  thirteen  thousand  one  hundred 
and  sixty-two  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners. 
McDowell  at  Bull  Run  had  lost  but  two  thousand 
seven  hundred,  and  yet  was  removed  from  his  com 
mand. 

The  rage  against  Grant  in  the  North  was  unbounded. 
The  demand  for  his  removal  was  so  determined,  so  uni 
versal,  so  persistent,  it  was  necessary  for  Abraham 
Lincoln  to  bow  to  it  temporarily. 

Lincoln  positively  refused  to  sacrifice  his  fighting 
General  for  his  first  error,  but  sent  Halleck  into  the 

313 


THE  VICTIM 


field  as  Coramander-in-Chief  and  left  Grant  in  command 
of  his  division. 

The  bulldog  fighter  of  the  North  learned  his  lesson  at 
Shiloh.  The  South  never  again  caught  him  napping. 

Great  as  the  losses  were  to  the  North  they  were  as 
nothing  to  the  disaster  which  this  bloody  field  brought 
to  the  Confederacy.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  alive  was 
equal  to  an  army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men  —  dead ; 
his  loss  was  irreparable. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  LIGHT  THAT  FAILED 

The  struggle  which  Jefferson  Davis  was  making  to 
parry  the  force  of  the  mortal  blows  delivered  by  the 
United  States  Navy  at  last  gave  promise  of  startling 
success. 

The  fight  to  establish  the  right  of  the  Confederacy 
to  arm  its  allies  under  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal 
had  been  won  by  the  Southern  President.  The  first 
armed  vessel  sailing  under  the  orders  of  Davis  which 
was  captured  by  the  navy  had  brought  the  question  to 
sharp  issue.  The  Washington  Government  had  pro 
claimed  the  vessels  flying  the  Confederate  flag  under 
letters  of  marque  to  be  pirates  and  subject  to  the  treat 
ment  of  felons. 

The  Captain  and  the  crew  of  the  Savannah  when  cap 
tured  had  been  put  in  irons  and  condemned  to  death  as 
pirates.  If  the  Washington  Government  could  make 
good  this  daring  assumption;  the  power  of  the  Confed 
eracy  to  damage  the  commerce  of  the  North  would  be 
practically  destroyed  at  a  blow. 

Davis  met  the  crisis  with  firmness.  He  selected  an 
equal  number  of  Federal  prisoners  of  war  in  Richmond 
and  threw  them  into  a  dungeon  below  Libby  Prison. 
He  dispatched  a  letter  to  Washington  whose  language 
could  not  be  misunderstood. 

"  Dare  to  execute  an  officer  or  sailor  of  the  Savannah, 
and  I  will  put  to  death  as  felons  an  equal  number  of  Fed 
eral  officers  and  men.  I  have  placed  them  in  close  con- 

315 


THE  VICTIM 


finement  and   ordered   similar   treatment  to   that  accorded 
our  prisoners  from  the  captured  vessel." 

Socola  received  a  message  summoning  him  to  the 
house  on  Church  Hill.  A  courier  had  arrived  from 
Washington.  The  Government  must  know  immediately 
if  this  threat  were  idle  or  genuine.  If  Jefferson  Davis 
should  dare  to  execute  these  thirteen  officers  and  men, 
the  administration  could  not  resist  the  storm  of  indig 
nant  protest  which  would  overwhelm  it  from  the 
North. 

Socola  read  the  cipher  dispatch  by  the  dim  light  of 
the  candle  in  his  attic  and  turned  to  Miss  Van  Lew. 

"  My  information  in  the  State  Department  is  of  the 
most  positive  kind.  The  prisoners  have  been  put  in  the 
dungeon  set  apart  for  condemned  felons  and  they  but 
wait  the  word  of  the  execution  of  the  men  from  the  Sa 
vannah,  to  be  led  to  certain  death.  It  may  be  talk. 
We  must  know.  Apply  for  permission  to  visit  the  con 
demned  men  and  minister  to  their  comfort — " 

"  At  once,"  was  the  prompt  response.  "  I've  made 
friends  with  Captain  Todd,  the  Commandant  of  Libby 
Prison;  I'll  succeed." 

Crazy  Bet  appeared'  at  Libby  Prison  next  morning 
with  a  basket  of  flowers  for  the  condemned  men.  Cap 
tain  Todd  humored  her  mania.  Poor  old  abolition  fa 
natic,  she  could  do  no  harm.  She  was  too  frank  and 
outspoken  to  be  dangerous.  Besides,  it  was  a  war  of 
brothers.  His  own  sister  was  the  wife  of  Abraham  Lin 
coln.  These  condemned  men  were  the  best  blood  of  the 
North.  It  was  a  pitiful  tragedy. 

Miss  Van  Lew,  with  a  market  basket  on  her  arm, 
watched  for  Socola's  appearance  from  the  office  of  the 
Secretary  of  State.  The  young  clerk  was  walking 
slowly  down  Main  Street  and  turned  into  an  unused 
narrow  road  at  the  foot  of  the  hill. 

316 


THE  LIGHT  THAT  FAILED 

Crazy  Bet,  swinging  the  basket  and  humming  a  song, 
passed  him  without  turning  her  head. 

"  It's  true,"  she  whispered  quickly,  "  all  horribly 
true.  Thirteen  of  the  finest  officers  of  the  Union  army 
have  been  condemned  to  death  the  moment  the  crew  of 
the  Savannah  are  executed  —  among  them  Colonel 
Cochrane  of  New  York  and  Colonel  Paul  Revere  of 
Massachusetts.  The  dispatch  must  go  to-night." 

"  To-night,"  was  the  short  answer. 

Within  an  hour  Socola's  courier  was  on  his  way  to 
Washington  with  a  message  which  unlocked  the  prison 
doors  of  the  condemned  men  on  both  sides  of  the  line. 

Abraham  Lincoln  stoutly  opposed  a  repetition  of  the 
effort  to  treat  Confederate  prisoners  as  outlaws,  no 
matter  where  taken  by  land  or  sea.  Davis  had  estab 
lished  the  legality  of  his  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal 
beyond  question. 

The  United  States  Navy  in  the  first  flood  of  its  vic 
tories  made  another  false  step  which  brought  to  the 
South  an  hour  of  brilliant  hope.  Captain  Wilkes  over 
hauled  a  British  steamer  carrying  the  royal  mail  and 
took  from  her  decks  by  force  the  Commissioners  Mason 
and  Slidell  whom  Davis  had  dispatched  to  Europe  to 
plead  for  the  recognition  of  the  Confederacy.  The 
North  had  gone  wild  with  joy  over  the  act  and  Con 
gress  voted  Wilkes  the  thanks  of  the  nation  as  its  hero. 

Great  Britain  demanded  an  apology  and  the  restora 
tion  of  the  prisoners,  put  her  navy  on  a  war  footing 
and  dispatched  a  division  of  her  army  to  Canada  to 
strike  the  North  by  land  as  well  as  sea. 

The  hard  common  sense  of  Abraham  Lincoln  rescued 
the  National  Government  from  a  delicate  and  danger 
ous  situation.  Lincoln  apologized  to  Great  Britain, 
restored  the  Confederate  Commissioners  and  returned 
with  redoubled  energy  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 
In  answer  to  the  shouts  of  demagogues  and  the  re- 

317 


THE  VICTIM 


preaches  of  both  friend  and  foe,  the  homely  rail-splitter 
from  the  West  had  a  simple  answer. 

"  One  war  at  a  time." 

Jefferson  Davis  watched  this  threat  of  British  inva 
sion  with  breathless  intensity.  He  saw  the  hope  of 
thus  breaking  the  power  of  the  navy  fade  with  sicken 
ing  disappointment. 

There  was  one  more  hope.  The  hull  of  the  Merrimac 
had  been  raised  from  the  bottom  of  the  harbor  of  Nor 
folk  and  the  work  of  transforming  her  into  a  giant  iron 
clad  ship  capable  of  carrying  a  fighting  crew  of  three 
hundred  men  had  been  completed,  though  her  engines 
were  slow. 

But  the  enthusiastic  men  set  to  this  task  by  Davis  had 
accomplished  wonders.  Their  reports  to  him  had 
raised  high  hopes  of  a  sensation.  If  this  new  monster 
of  the  sea  should  succeed  single  handed  in  destroying 
the  fleet  of  six  vessels  lying  in  Hampton  Roads,  the 
naval  warfare  of  the  world  would  be  revolutionized  in  a 
day  and  overtures  for  peace  might  be  within  sight. 

The  Norfolk  newspapers,  under  instructions  from 
the  Confederate  Commandant,  pronounced  the  experi 
ment  of  the  Merrimac  a  stupid  and  fearful  failure. 
Her  engines  were  useless.  Her  steering  gear  wouldn't 
work.  Her  armament  was  so  heavy  she  couldn't  be 
handled.  These  papers  were  easily  circulated  at  New 
port  News  and  Old  Point  Comfort  among  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  Federal  fleet. 

The  men  who  had  built  the  strange  craft  knew  she 
was  anything  but  a  failure.  With  eager,  excited  hands 
her  crew  finished  the  last  touch  of  her  preparations  and 
with  her  guns  shotted  she  slowly  steamed  out  of  the 
harbor  of  Norfolk  accompanied  by  two  saucy  little  im 
provised  gunboats,  the  Beaiifort  and  the  Raleigh. 

Her  speed  was  not  more  than  five  knots  an  hour  and 
she  steered  so  badly  the  Beaufort  was  compelled  to  pull 

318 


THE  LIGHT  THAT  FAILED 

her  into  the  main  current  of  the  channel  more  than 
once. 

The  Federal  squadron  lay  off  Newport  News,  the 
Congress  and  the  Cumberland  well  out  in  the  stream, 
the  Minnesota,  Roanoke  and  St.  Lawrence  further  down 
toward  Fortress  Monroe.  The  Congress,  Cumberland 
and  St.  Lawrence  mounted  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  guns,  twenty-two  of  them  of  nine-inch  caliber. 
Their  crews  aggregated  more  than  a  thousand  men. 

The  new  crack  steam  frigates  Minnesota  and  Roa 
noke  had  crews  of  six  hundred  men  each  and  carried 
more  than  eighty  guns  of  nine  and  eleven-inch  caliber. 
That  any  single  craft  afloat  would  dare  attack  such  a 
squadron  was  preposterous. 

It  was  one  o'clock  before  the  strange  black  looking 
object  swung  into  the  channel  and  turned  her  nose  up 
stream  toward  Newport  News. 

The  crews  of  the  Congress  and  the  Cumberland  were 
lounging  on  deck  enjoying  the  balmy  spring  air. 
It  was  wash  day  and  the  clothes  were  fluttering  in  the 
breeze. 

They  couldn't  make  out  the  foolish-looking  thing  at 
first.  It  looked  like  the  top  of  a  long-hipped  roof 
house  that  had  been  sawed  off  at  the  eaves  and  pushed 
into  the  water.  The  two  little  river  steamers  that  ac 
companied  the  raft  seemed  to  be  towing  it. 

"  What  'ell,  Bill,  is  that  thing?  "  a  sailor  asked  his 
mate  on  the  Congress. 

Bill  scanned  the  horizon. 

"  I  give  it  up,  sir,"  he  admitted.  "  I  been  a  sailin' 
the  seas  for  forty  years  —  but  that's  one  on  me ! " 

A  battle  signal  suddenly  flashed  from  the  Cumberland 
and  down  came  the  wash  lines. 

The  Beaufort  with  a  single  thirty-two -pounder  rifle 
mounted  in  her  bow  was  steaming  alongside  the  port 
of  the  strange  craft.  A  puff  of  white  smoke  flared 

319 


THE  VICTIM 


from  her  single  gun  and  its  dull  roar  waked  the  still 
beautiful  waters  of  the  Virginia  harbor. 

The  Merrimac  flung  her  big  battle  flag  into  the  sky 
and  her  tiny  escorts  dropped  down  stream  to  give  her 
free  play.  The  Congress  and  the  Cumberland  were 
surprised,  but  they  slipped  their  anchors  in  a  jiffy, 
swung  their  guns  in  haste  and  began  pouring  a  storm 
of  shot  on  the  iron  sides  of  the  coming  foe. 

The  Merrimac  moved  forward  with  slow,  steady 
throb  as  though  the  shot  that  rained  on  her  slanting 
sides  were  so  many  pebbles  thrown  by  school  boys. 
She  passed  the  Congress  and  pointed  her  ugly  prow 
for  the  Cumberland.  The  ship  poured  her  broadside 
squarely  into  the  face  of  the  Merrimac  without  damage 
and  the  bow  gun  roared  an  answer  that  pierced  her 
bulwarks. 

Through  the  thick  cloud  of  heavy  smoke  that  hung 
low  on  the  water  the  throbbing  monster  bore  straight 
down  on  the  Cumberland,  struck  her  amidship  and  sent 
her  to  the  bottom. 

As  the  gallant  ship  sank  in  sickening  lurches  her 
brave  crew  cheered  her  to  her  grave  and  continued 
firing  her  useless  guns  until  the  waves  engulfed  the 
decks.  When  her  keel  touched  the  bottom  her  flag 
was  still  flying  from  her  masthead.  She  rolled  over 
on  her  beam's  end  and  carried  the  flag  beneath  the 
waves. 

The  Confederate  mosquito  fleet,  consisting  of  the  lit 
tle  gunboats  Patrick  Henry,  Teaser  and  Jamestown, 
swung  down  from  the  river  now,  ran  boldly  past  the 
flaming  shore  batteries  and  joined  in  the  attack  on  the 
Federal  squadron. 

The  Congress  had  set  one  of  her  sails  and  with  the 
aid  of  a  tug  was  desperately  working  to  reach  shoal 
water  before  she  could  be  sunk.  Her  captain  succeeded 
in  beaching  her  directly  under  the  guns  of  the  shore 

320 


THE  LIGHT  THAT  FAILED 

batteries.     At  four  o'clock  she  gave  up  the  bloody  un 
equal  contest  and  hauled  down  her  colors. 

The  Minnesota,  Roanoke  and  St.  Lawrence,  in  try 
ing  to  reach  the  scene  of  the  battle,  had  all  been 
grounded.  The  Minnesota  was  still  lying  helpless  in 
the  mud  as  the  sun  set  and  the  new  monarch  of  the  seas 
slowly  withdrew  to  Sewell's  Point  to  overhaul  her  ma 
chinery  and  prepare  to  finish  her  work  next  day. 

The  Merrimac  had  lost  twenty-one  killed  and 
wounded  —  among  the  wounded  was  her  gallant  flag 
officer,  Franklin  Buchanan.  The  Patrick  Henry  had 
lost  fourteen,  the  Beaufort  eight,  the  Raleigh  seven, 
including  two  officers. 

The  Federal  squadron  had  lost  two  ships  and  four 
hundred  men. 

But  by  far  the  greatest  loss  to  the  United  States 
Navy  was  the  supremacy  of  the  seas.  The  power  of 
her  fleets  had  been  smashed  at  a  blow.  The  ugly, 
black,  powder-stained,  iron  thing  lying  under  the  guns 
of  Sewell's  Point  had  won  the  crown  of  the  world's 
naval  supremacy.  The  fleets  of  the  United  States  were 
practically  out  of  commission  while  she  was  afloat. 
The  panic  at  the  North  which  followed  the  startling 
news  from  Hampton  Roads  was  indescribable.  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  hastily  called  a  Cabinet  meeting  to  con 
sider  what  action  it  was  necessary  to  take  to  meet  the 
now  appalling  situation.  Never  before  had  any  man 
in  authority  at  Washington  realized  how  absolute  was 
their  dependence  on  the  United  States  Navy  —  how 
impossible  it  would  be  to  maintain  the  Government 
without  its  power. 

Edwin  M.  Stanton,  the  indefatigable  Secretary  of 
War,  completely  lost  his  nerve  at  this  Cabinet  meet 
ing.  He  paced  the  floor  with  quick  excited  tread, 
glancing  out  of  the  window  of  the  White  House  toward 
the  waters  of  the  Potomac  with  undisguised  fear. 
22  321 


THE  VICTIM 


"  I  am  sure,  gentlemen,"  he  said  to  the  Cabinet, 
"  that  monster  is  now  on  her  way  to  Washington.  In 
my  opinion  we  will  have  a  shell  from  one  of  her  big  guns 
in  the  White  House  before  we  leave  this  room !  " 

Lincoln  was  profoundly  depressed  but  refused  to  be 
lieve  the  cause  of  the  Union  could  thus  be  completely 
lost  at  a  single  blow  from  a  nondescript,  iron  raft. 
Yet  it  was  only  too  easy  to  see  that  the  moral 
effect  of  this  victory  would  be  crushing  on  public  opin 
ion. 

The  wires  to  Washington  were  hot  with  frantic  calls 
for  help.  New  York  was  ready  to  surrender  at  the 
first  demand.  So  utter  was  the  demoralization  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  the  one  absolutely  impregnable  fort 
on  the  Atlantic  coast,  that  the  commander  had  already 
determined  to  surrender  in  answer  to  the  first  shot  the 
Merrimac  should  fire. 

The  preparations  for  moving  McClellan's  army  to 
the  Virginia  Peninsula  for  the  campaign  to  capture 
Richmond  were  suddenly  halted.  Two  hundred  thou 
sand  men  must  rest  on  their  arms  until  this  crisis  should 
pass.  All  orders  issued  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
were  now  made  contingent  on  the  destruction  of  the  iron 
monster  lying  in  Hampton  Roads. 

By  one  of  the  strangest  coincidences  in  history  the 
United  States  Navy  had  completed  an  experiment  in 
floating  iron  at  precisely  the  same  moment. 

While  the  guns  of  the  battle  were  yet  echoing  over 
the  waters  of  the  harbor,  this  strange  little  craft,  a 
floating  iron  cheese  box,  was  slowly  steaming  into  the 
Virginia  capes. 

At  nine  o'clock  that  night  Ericsson's  Monitor  was 
beside  the  panic-stricken  Roanoke. 

When  C.  S.  Bushnell  took  the  model  of  this  strange 
craft  to  Washington,  he  was  referred  to  Commander 
C.  H.  Davis  by  the  Naval  Board.  When  Davis  had 

322 


THE  LIGHT  THAT  FAILED 

examined  it  he  handed  it  back  to  Bushnell  with  a  pity 
ing  smile: 

"  Take  the  little  thing  home,  and  worship  it.  It 
would  not  be  idolatry,  because  it's  made  in  the  image  of 
nothing  in  the  heaven  above  or  the  earth  beneath  or  in 
the  waters  under  the  earth." 

Wiser  councils  had  prevailed,  and  the  floating  cheese 
box  was  completed  and  arrived  in  Hampton  Roads  in 
time  to  put  its  powers  to  supreme  test. 

The  Merrimac's  crew  ate  their  breakfast  at  their 
leisure  and  prepared  to  drive  their  ugly  duckling  into 
the  battle  line  again  and  finish  the  work  of  destroying 
the  battered  Federal  squadron. 

The  Merrimac  had  fought  the  battle  of  the  day  be 
fore  under  the  constant  pounding  of  more  than  one  hun 
dred  guns  bearing  on  her  iron  sides.  Her  armor  was 
intact.  Two  of  her  guns  were  disabled  by  having  their 
muzzles  shot  off.  Her  nose  had  been  torn  off  and 
sank  with  the  Cumberland.  One  anchor,  her  smoke 
stacks  and  steam  pipes  were  shot  away.  Every  scrap 
of  her  railing,  stanchions,  and  boat  davits  had  been 
swept  clean.  Her  flag  staff  was  gone  and  a  boarding 
pike  had  been  set  up  in  its  place. 

With  stern  faces,  and  absolutely  sure  of  victory,  her 
crew  swung  her  into  the  stream,  crowded  on  full  steam 
and  moved  down  on  the  Minnesota. 

Close  under  the  ship's  side  they  saw  for  the  first 
time  the  cheese  box.  They  had  heard  of  the  experi 
ment  of  her  building  but  knew  nothing  of  her  arrival. 

Her  insignificant  size  was  a  surprise  and  the  big 
Merrimac  dashed  at  her  with  a  sullen  furious  growl  of 
her  big  guns.  The  game  little  bulldog  swung  out  from 
the  Minnesota  and  made  straight  for  the  onmshing 
monster. 

The  flotilla  of  gunboats  had  been  signaled  to  retire 
and  watch  the  duel. 

323 


THE  VICTIM 


From  the  big  eleven-inch  guns  of  the  Monitor  shot 
after  shot  was  hurled  against  the  slanting  armored 
walls  of  the  Merrimac. 

Broadside  after  broadside  poured  from  her  guns 
against  the  iron-clad  tower  of  the  Monitor. 

The  Merrimac,  drawing  twenty  feet  of  water,  was 
slow  and  difficult  to  handle.  The  game  little  Monitor 
drew  but  twelve  feet  and  required  no  maneuvering.  Her 
tower  revolved.  She  could  stand  and  fight  in  one  spot 
all  day. 

The  big  black  hull  of  the  Merrimac  bore  down  on  the 
Monitor  now  to  ram  and  sink  her  at  a  blow.  The  nim 
ble  craft  side  stepped  the  avalanche  of  iron,  turned 
quickly  and  attempted  to  jamb  her  nose  into  the  steer 
ing  gear  of  the  Southerner  —  but  in  vain. 

For  two  solid  hours  the  iron-clads  pounded  and 
hammered  each  other.  The  shots  made  no  impression 
on  either  boat. 

Again  the  Merrimac  tried  to  ram  her  antagonist 
and  run  her  aground.  The  nimble  foe  avoided  the 
blow,  though  struck  a  grinding,  crushing  side-swipe. 

The  little  Monitor  now  stuck  her  nose  squarely 
against  the  side  of  the  Merrimac,  held  it  there,  and 
fired  both  her  eleven-inch  guns  against  the  walls  of  the 
Southerner. 

The  charge  of  powder  was  not  heavy  enough.  No 
harm  was  done.  The  impact  of  the  shots  had  merely 
forced  the  sloping  sides  an  inch  or  two. 

The  captain  of  the  Merrimac  turned  to  his  men  in 
sharp  command. 

"  All  hands  on  deck.     Board  and  capture  her ! " 

The  smoke-smeared  crew  swarmed  to  the  portholes 
and  were  just  in  the  act  of  springing  on  the  decks  of 
the  Monitor,  when  she  backed  quickly  and  dropped 
down  stream. 

After  six  hours  of  thunder  in  each  other's  faces  the 
324 


THE  LIGHT  THAT  FAILED 

Monitor  drew  away  into  the  shoal  waters  guarding  the 
Minnesota. 

The  Merrimac  could  not  follow  her  in  the  shallows 
and  at  two  o'clock  turned  her  prow  again  toward 
Sewcll's  Point. 

The  battle  was  a  drawn  conflict.  But  the  plucky 
little  Monitor  had  won  a  tremendous  moral  victory. 
She  had  rescued  the  navy  in  the  nick  of  time.  The 
Government  at  Washington  once  more  breathed. 

From  the  heights  of  rejoicing  the  South  sank  again 
to  the  bitterness  of  failure.  For  twenty-four  hours 
her  flag  had  been  mistress  of  the  seas.  Jefferson  Davis 
saw  the  hope  of  peace  fade  into-  the  certainty  of  a 
struggle  for  the  possession  of  Richmond. 

The  way  had  been  cleared.  McClellan's  two  hundred 
thousand  men  were  rushing  on  their  transports  for  the 
Virginia  peninsula. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
THE  SNARE  OF  THE  FOWLER 

Long  before  Jenne  Barton  arrived  in  Richmond  So- 
cola  had  waked  to  the  realization  of  the  fact  that  he 
had  been  caught  in  the  trap  he  had  set  for  another. 
He  had  laughed  at  his  growing  interest  in  the  slender 
dark  little  Southerner.  He  imagined  that  he  had  hyp 
notized  himself  into  the  idea  that  he  really  liked  her. 
He  had  kept  no  account  of  the  number  of  visits  he 
had  made.  They  were  part  of  his  programme.  They 
had  grown  so  swiftly  into  the  habit  of  his  thought 
and  life  he  had  not  stopped  to  question  the  motive  that 
prompted  his  zeal  in  pressing  his  attentions. 

In  fact  his  mind  had  become  so  evenly  adjusted  to 
hers,  his  happiness  had  been  so  quietly  perfect,  he  had 
lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  he  was  pressing  his  atten 
tions  at  all. 

The  day  she  was  suddenly  called  South  and  he  said 
good-by  with  her  brown  eyes  looking  so  frankly  into 
his  he  was  brought  sharply  up  against  the  fact  that 
he  was  in  love. 

When  he  took  her  warm  hand  in  his  to  press  it  for 
the  last  time,  he  felt  an  almost  resistless  impulse  to  bend 
and  kiss  her.  From  that  moment  he  realized  that  he 
was  in  love  —  madly,  hopelessly,  desperately. 

He  had  left  the  car  and  hurried  back  to  his  post  in 
the  State  Department,  his  heart  beating  like  a  trip 
hammer.  It  was  a  novel  experience.  He  had  never 
taken  girls  seriously  before.  The  last  girl  on  earth  he 

326 


THE  SNARE  OF  THE  FOWLER 

had  ever  meant  to  take  seriously  was  this  slip  of  a 
Southern  enthusiast.  For  a  moment  he  was  furious  at 
the  certainty  of  his  abject  surrender.  He  lifted  his 
eyes  to  the  big  columns  of  the  Confederate  Capitol  and 
laughed : 

"  Come,  come,  man  —  common  sense  —  this  is  a 
joke!  Forget  it  all.  To  your  work  —  your  country 
calls !  " 

Somehow  the  country  refused  to  issue  but  one  call  — 
the  old  eternal  cry  of  love.  Wherever  he  turned,  Jen 
nie's  brown  eyes  were  smiling  into  his.  He  looked  at 
the  Confederate  Capitol  to  inspire  him  to  deeds  of  dar 
ing  and  all  he  could  remember  was  that  she  was  a  glo 
rious  little  rebel  with  three  brothers  fighting  for  the 
flag  that  floated  there.  All  he  could  get  out  of  the  su 
preme  emblem  of  the  "  Rebellion  "  was  that  it  was  her 
Capitol  and  her  flag  and  he  loved  her. 

And  then  he  laughed  for  sheer  joy  that  love  had  come 
into  his  heart  and  made  the  world  beautiful.  He  sur 
rendered  himself  body  and  soul  to  the  madness  and  won 
der  of  it  all. 

If  he  could  only  see  his  mother  and  tell  her,  she 
could  understand.  He  couldn't  talk  to  the  bundle  of 
nerves  Miss  Van  Lew  had  become.  Her  eyes  burned 
each  day  with  a  deeper  and  deeper  light  of  fanatical 
patriotism.  He  had  yielded  none  of  his  own  enthusi 
asm.  But  this  secret  of  his  heart  was  too  sweet  to  be 
shared  by  a  comrade  in  arms. 

Only  God's  eye,  or  the  soul  of  the  mother  who  bore 
him,  could  understand  what  he  felt.  The  realization 
of  his  love  for  Jennie  brought  a  new  fear  into  his  heart. 
His  nerve  was  put  daily  to  supreme  test  in  the  danger 
ous  work  in  which  he  was  engaged.  A  single  mistake 
would  start  an  investigation  sure  to  end  with  a  rope 
around  his  neck.  Love  had  given  life  a  new  meaning. 
The  chatter  of  the  squirrels  in  the  Capitol  Square  was 

327 


THE  VICTIM 


all  about  their  homes  and  babies  in  the  tree  tops.  The 
song  of  birds  in  the  old  flower  garden  on  Church  Hill 
made  his  heart  thump  with  a  joy  that  was  agony.  The 
flowers  were  just  bursting  into  full  bloom  and  their 
perfume  filled  the  air  with  the  lazy  dreaming  of  the 
southern  spring. 

He  must  speak  his  love.  His  heart  would  burst  with 
its  beating.  His  mate  must  know.  And  she  had  re 
turned  to  Richmond  with  a  bitterness  against  the  North 
that  was  something  new  in  the  development  of  her  char 
acter. 

The  newspapers  of  Richmond  had  published  an  elab 
orate  account  of  the  sacking  of  her  father's  house,  the 
smashing  of  its  furniture  and  theft  of  its  valuables. 
It  had  created  a  profound  sensation.  There  was  no 
mistaking  the  passion  with  which  she  had  told  this 
story. 

He  had  laughed  at  first  over  the  fun  of  winning  the 
fairest  little  rebel  in  the  South  and  carrying  his  bride 
away  a  prize  of  war,  against  the  combined  efforts  of 
his  Southern  rivals.  His  love  and  pride  had  not 
doubted  for  a  moment  that  her  heart  would  yield  to  the 
man  she  loved  no  matter  what  uniform  he  might  wear 
at  the  end  of  this  war. 

He  couldn't  make  up  his  mind  to  ask  her  to  marry 
him  until  she  should  know  his  real  name  and  his  true 
principles. 

What  would  she  do  if  the  truth  were  revealed?  His 
heart  fairly  stopped  its  beating  at  the  thought.  The 
fall  of  Richmond  he  now  regarded  as  a  practical  cer 
tainty.  The  Merrimac  had  proven  a  vain  hope  to  the 
Confederacy. 

McClellan  was  landing  his  magnificent  army  on  the 
Peninsula  and  preparing  to  sweep  all  before  him.  Mc 
Dowell's  forty  thousand  men  were  moving  on  his  old 
line  of  march  straight  from  Washington.  Their  two 

328 


THE  SNARE  OF  THE  FOWLER 

armies  would  unite  before  the  city  and  circle  it  with  an 
invincible  wall  of  fire  and  steel.  Fremont,  Milroy 
and  Banks  were  sweeping  through  the  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah.  Their  armies  would  unite,  break  the 
connections  of  the  Confederacy  at  Lynchburg  and  the 
South  would  be  crushed. 

That  this  would  all  be  accomplished  within  thirty 
days  he  had  the  most  positive  assurances  from  Wash 
ington.  So  sure  was  Miss  Van  Lew  of  McClellan's  tri 
umphant  entry  into  Richmond  she  had  put  her  house 
in  order  for  his  reception.  Her  parlor  had  been  scru 
pulously  cleaned.  Its  blinds  were  drawn  and  the  room 
dark,  but  a  flag  staff  was  ready  and  a  Union  standard 
concealed  in  one  of  her  feather  beds.  Over  the  old 
house  on  Church  Hill  the  emblem  of  the  Nation  would 
first  be  flung  to  the  breeze  in  the  conquered  Capital  of 
the  Confederacy. 

The  certainty  of  his  discovery  in  the  rush  of  the 
Union  army  into  the  city  was  now  the  nightmare  which, 
haunted  his  imagination. 

He  could  fight  the  Confederate  Government  on  even 
terms.  He  asked  no  odds.  His  life  was  on  the  haz 
ard.  Something  more  than  the  life  of  a  Union  spy  was 
at  stake  in  his  affair  with  Jennie.  Her  life  and  happi 
ness  were  bound  in  his.  He  felt  this  by  an  unerring  in 
stinct. 

If  this  proud,  sensitive,  embittered  girl  should  stum 
ble  on  even  a  suspicion  of  the  truth,  she  would  tear  her 
heart  out  of  her  body  if  necessary  to  put  him  out  of  her 
life. 

For  a  moment  he  was  tempted  to  give  up  his  work 
and  return  to  the  North.  It  was  the  one  sure  way  to 
avoid  discovery  when  Richmond  fell.  The  war  over,, 
he  would  have  his  even  chance  with  other  men  when  its 
bitterness  had  been  softened.  His  work  in  Richmond 
was  practically  done.  His  men  could  finish  it.  The: 

329 


THE  VICTIM 


number  of  soldiers  in  the  Southern  armies  had  been  ac 
curately  counted  and  reported  to  Washington.  Why 
should  he  risk  the  happiness  of  the  woman  he  loved  and 
his  own  happiness  for  life  by  remaining  another  day? 

The  thought  had  no  sooner  taken  shape  than  he  put 
it  out  of  his  mind. 

"  Bah !  I've  set  my  hand  to  a  great  task.  I'm  not 
a  quitter.  I'll  stand  by  my  guns.  No  true  woman 
ever  loved  a  coward !  " 

He  would  take  his  chances  and  tell  her  his  love. 

He  lifted  the  old-fashioned  brass  knocker  on  Senator 
Barton's  door  and  banged  it  with  such  force  he  laughed 
at  his  own  foolish  eagerness : 

"  At  least  I  needn't  smash  my  way  in !  "  he  muttered. 

"  Yassah,  des  walk  right  in  de  parlor,  sah,"  Jennie's 
maid  said,  with  her  teeth  shining  in  a  knowing  smile. 

Senator  Barton  had  recovered  from  his  illness. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  about  it.  He  was  in  the  li 
brary  holding  forth  in  eloquent  tones  to  a  group  of 
Confederate  Congressmen  who  made  his  house  their  ren 
dezvous.  He  was  enjoying  the  martyrdom  which  the 
outrage  on  his  home  and  the  death  of  his  aged  mother 
and  father  had  brought.  He  was  using  it  to  inveigh 
with  new  bitterness  against  the  imbecility  of  Jefferson 
Davis  and  his  administraton.  He  held  Davis  person 
ally  responsible  for  every  defeat  of  the  South.  He 
was  the  one  man  who  had  caused  the  fall  of  New  Or 
leans,  the  loss  of  Fort  Donelson  and  the  failure  to  reap 
the  victory  at  Shiloh. 

"  But  you  must  remember,  Senator,"  one  of  his 
henchmen  mildly  protested,  "  that  Davis  did  save  Al 
bert  Sidney  Johnston  to  us  and  that  alone  made  a  vic 
tory  possible." 

"  And  what  of  it,  if  he  threw  it  away  by  appointing 
a  fool  second  in  Command?  " 

There  was  a  good  answer  to  this  —  too  good  for  the 
330 


THE  SNARE  OF  THE  FOWLER 

henchman  to  dare  use  it.  He  had  sent  Beauregard 
west  to  join  Albert  Sidney  Johnston's  command  because 
Barton's  junta,  supporting  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
against  the  administration,  would  no  longer  tolerate 
Beauregard  in  the  same  camp  with  their  chief.  They 
had  demanded  a  free  field  for  Joseph  E.  Johnston  in  the 
conflict  with  McClellan  or  they  had  threatened  his  res 
ignation  and  the  disruption  of  the  Confederate  army. 

The  President,  sick  unto  death  over  the  wrangling 
of  these  two  generals,  had  separated  them  and  sent 
Beauregard  west  where  the  genius  of  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston  could  use  his  personal  popularity,  and  his 
own  more  powerful  mind  would  neutralize  in  any  coun 
cil  of  war  the  little  man's  feeble  generalship. 

Socola  listened  to  Barton's  fierce,  unreasoning  invec 
tive  with  a  sense  of  dread.  It  was  impossible  to  realize 
that  this  big-mouthed,  bitter,  vindictive,  ridiculous  pol 
itician  was  the  father  of  the  gentle  girl  he  loved.  There 
must  be  something  of  his  power  of  malignant  hatred 
somewhere  in  Jennie's  nature.  He  had  caught  just  a 
glimpse  of  it  in  the  story  she  had  told  the  Richmond 
papers. 

She  stood  in  the  doorway  at  last,  a  smiling  vision  of 
modest  beauty.  Her  dress  of  fine  old  lace  seemed  woven 
of  the  tender  smiles  that  played  about  the  sensitive 
mouth. 

He  sprang  to  his  feet  and  took  her  hand,  his  heart 
thumping  with  joy.  She  felt  it  tremble  and  laughed 
outright. 

"  So  you  have  returned  a  fiercer  rebel  than  ever,  Miss 
Jennie?  "  he  said  hesitatingly. 

He  tried  to  say  something  purely  conventional  but 
it  popped  out  when  he  opened  his  mouth  —  the  ugly 
thought  that  was  gnawing  at  his  happiness. 

"  Yes,"  she  answered  thoughtfully,  "  I  never  realized 
before  what  it  meant  to  be  with  my  own  people.  I 

331 


THE  VICTIM 


could  have  burned  New  Orleans  and  laughed  at  its  ru 
ins  to  have  smoked  Ben  Butler  out  of  it  — " 

"  President  Davis  has  proclaimed  him  an  outlaw  I 
see,"  Socola  added. 

"  If  he  can  only  capture  and  hang  him,  the  people  of 
Louisiana  would  be  perfectly  willing  to  lose  all  — " 

"  But  your  brother,  the  Judge,  is  still  loyal  to  the 
Union  —  you  can't  hate  him  you  know?  " 

Jennie's  eyes  flashed  into  Socola's. 

Why  had  he  asked  the  one  question  that  opened  the 
wound  in  her  heart?  Perhaps  her  mind  had  suggested 
it.  She  had  scarcely  spoken  the  bitter  words  before 
she  saw  the  vision  of  his  serious  face  and  regretted  it. 

"  Strange  you  should  have  mentioned  my  brother's 
name  at  the  very  moment  his  image  was  before  me,"  the 
girl  thoughtfully  replied. 

"  Clairvoyance  perhaps  — " 

"  You  believe  in  such  things  ?  "  Jennie  asked. 

"  Yes.  My  mother  leaped  from  her  bed  with  a 
scream  one  night  and  told  me  that  she  had  seen  my 
father's  spirit,  felt  him  bend  over  her  and  touch  her 
lips.  He  had  died  at  exactly  that  moment." 

"  Wonderful,  isn't  it,"  Jennie  murmured  softly,  "  the 
vision  of  love !  " 

She  was  dreaming  of  the  moments  of  her  distress  in 
the  sacking  of  her  home  when  the  vision  of  this  man's 
smiling  face  had  suddenly  set  her  to  laughing. 

"  Yes,"  Socola  answered.  "  I  asked  you  about  your 
older  brother  because  I  don't  like  the  idea  of  you  poi 
soning  your  beautiful  young  life  with  hatred.  Such 
thoughts  kill  —  they  can't  bring  health  and  strength, 
Miss  Jennie." 

"  Of  course,"  the  girl  responded  tenderly,  "  you 
can  see  things  more  calmly.  You  can't  understand 
how  deep  the  knife  has  entered  our  hearts  in  the 
South." 

332 


THE  SNARE  OF  THE  FOWLER 

"That's  just  what  I  do  understand.  It's  that 
against  which  I'm  warning  you.  This  war  can't  last 
always  you  know.  There  must  be  a  readjustment  — " 

"  Between  the  North  and  South?  " 

"Of  course— " 

"Never!" 

With  sudden  emotion  she  leaped  to  her  feet  her  little 
fists  clinched.  She  stood  trembling  in  silence  for  a  mo 
ment  and  her  face  paled. 

"  No,  Signer,"  she  went  on  in  cold  tones.  "  There 
can  be  no  readjustment  of  this  war.  It's  to  the  death 
now.  I  confess  myself  a  rebel  body  and  soul  —  Con 
fess?  I  glory  in  it!  I'm  proud  of  being  one.  I 
thought  my  father  extravagant  at  first.  Ben  Butler 
has  changed  my  views.  The  South  can't  look  back 
now.  It's  forward  —  forward  —  always  forward  to 
death or  independence !  " 

She  paused  overcome  with  emotion. 

"  Yes,"  she  went  on  in  quick  tones,  "  I  thank  God 
we're  two  different  tribes!  I'm  proud  of  the  South 
and  her  old-fashioned,  out-of-date  chivalry.  The 
South  respects  and  honors  women.  God  never  made 
the  Southern  white  man  who  could  issue  Butler's  orders 
in  New  Orleans  or  insult  the  heart-broken  women  who 
are  forced  to  enter  his  office  with  the  vile  motto  he  has 
placed  over  his  desk  — " 

Socola  lifted  his  hand  in  gentle  smiling  protest. 

"  But  you  must  remember,  Miss  Jennie,  that  General 
Butler  is  a  peculiar  individual.  He  probably  does  not 
represent  the  best  that's  in  New  England — " 

"  God  knows  I  hope  not  for  their  sakes,"  was  the  an 
swer.  "  I  only  wish  I  could  fight  in  the  ranks  with  our 
boys.  If  I  can't  fight  at  least  I'm  going  to  help  our 
men  in  other  ways.  I'll  work  with  my  hands  as  a  slave. 
I'll  sew  and  knit  and  nurse.  I'll  breathe  my  soul  into 
the  souls  of  our  men.  I  sing  Dixie  when  I  rise  in  the 

333 


THE  VICTIM 


morning.     I  hum  it  all  day.     I  sing  it  with  my  last 
thoughts  as  I  go  to  sleep." 

Socola  moved  uneasily. 

She  looked  at  him  a  moment  with  an  expression  of 
sudden  tenderness. 

"  I  can't  tell  you  how  proud  and  happy  I  am  in  the 
thought  that  I  may  have  helped  you  to  give  your  bril 
liant  mind  to  the  service  of  the  South.  It's  my  offer 
ing  to  my  country  and  her  cause !  " 

It  was  impossible  to  resist  the  glow  of  love  in  her 
shining  face.  Socola  felt  his  soul  dissolve.  \ 

With  a  little  gesture  of  resignation  she  dropped 
to  a  seat  on  the  lounge  beside  the  window,  her  young 
face  outlined  against  a  mass  of  early  roses  in  full 
bloom.  Their  perfume  poured  through  the  window 
and  filled  the  room. 

Socola  seated  himself  deliberately  by  her  side  and 
held  her  gaze  with  direct  purpose.  She  saw  and  un 
derstood  and  her  heart  beat  in  quick  response. 

"  You  realize  that  you  are  the  incarnate  Cause  of 
the  South  for  me?" 

She  smiled  triumphantly. 

"  I  have  always  known  it." 

There  was  no  silly  boasting  in  her  tones,  no  trace  of 
the  Southern  girl's  light  mood  with  one  of  her  numerous 
beaux.  Her  words  were  spoken  with  deliberate  tenderness. 

"  And  yet  how  deeply  and  wonderfully  you  could  not 
know  — " 

"  I  have  guessed  perhaps  — " 

He  took  her  hand  in  his. 

"  I  love  you,  Jennie  — " 

Her  voice  was  the  tenderest  whisper. 

"  And  I  love  you,  my  sweetheart  — " 

He  clasped  her  in  his  arms  and  held  her  in  silence. 

She  pushed  him  at  arm's  length  and  looked  wistfully 
into  his  face. 

334 


THE  SNARE  OF  THE  FOWLER 

"  For  the  past  month  my  heart  has  been  singing. 
Through  all  the  shame  and  misery  of  the  sacking  of 
our  home,  I  could  laugh  and  be  happy  —  foolishly 
happy,  because  I  knew  that  you  loved  me  — " 

"  How  did  you  know  ?  " 

"You  told  me—" 

"When?" 

"  With  the  last  little  touch  of  your  hand  when  I  went 
South." 

He  pressed  it  with  desperate  tenderness. 

"  It  shall  be  forever?  " 

"Forever!" 

"  Neither  life  nor  death,  nor  height  nor  depth  can 
separate  us  ?  " 

"  What  could  separate  us,  my  lover?  You  are  mine. 
I  am  yours.  You  have  given  your  life  to  our 
cause  — " 

"  I  am  but  a  soldier  of  fortune  — " 

66  You  are  my  soldier  —  you  have  given  your  life 
because  I  asked  it.  I  give  you  mine  in  return — " 

"  Swear  to  me  that  you'll  love  me  always !  " 

She  answered  with  a  kiss. 

"  I  swear  it." 

Again  he  clasped  her  in  his  arms  and  hurried  from 
the  house.  The  twilight  was  falling.  Artillery  wagons 
were  rumbling  through  the  streets.  A  troop  train  had 
arrived  from  the  South.  Its  regiments  were  rushing 
across  the  city  to  reenforce  McGruder's  thin  lines  on 
the  Peninsula.  McClellan's  guns  were  already  thun 
dering  on  the  shores. 

He  hurried  to  the  house  on  Church  Hill,  his  dark  face 
flushed  with  happiness,  his  heart  beating  a  reveille  of 
fear  and  joy. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  PANIC  IN  RICHMOND 

Richmond  now  entered  the  shadows  of  her  darkest 
hour.  Three  armies  were  threatening  from  the  west 
commanded  by  Fremont,  Milroy,  and  Banks,  whose 
forces  were  ordered  to  unite.  McDowell  with  forty 
thousand  men  lay  at  Fredericksburg  and  threatened 
a  junction  with  McClellan,  who  was  moving  up  the 
Peninsula  with  an  effective  army  of  105,000. 

Joseph  E.  Johnston  had  under  his  command  more 
than  fifty  thousand  with  which  to  oppose  McClellan's 
advance.  It  was  the  opinion  of  Davis  and  Lee  that  the 
stand  for  battle  should  be  made  on  the  narrow  neck  of 
the  Peninsula  which  lent  itself  naturally  to  defense. 

To  retreat  toward  Richmond  would  not  only  prove 
discouraging  to  the  army,  and  precipitate  a  panic  in 
the  city,  it  meant  the  abandonment  of  Norfolk,  the  loss 
of  the  navy  yard,  the  destruction  of  the  famous  iron 
clad,  and  the  opening  of  the  James  River  to  the  gun 
boats  of  the  enemy  to  Drury's  Bluff  within  twelve 
miles  of  the  Confederate  Capital. 

In  this  crisis  Johnston  gave  confirmation  to  the 
worst  fears  of  the  President.  He  displayed  the  consti 
tutional  timidity  and  hesitation  to  fight  which  marked 
every  step  of  his  military  career  to  its  tragic  end. 

With  the  greatest  army  under  his  command  which  the 
Confederacy  had  ever  brought  together  —  with  Long- 
street,  McGruder  and  G.  W.  Smith  as  his  lieutenants, 
he  was  preparing  to  retreat  without  a  battle. 

The  President  called  in  council  of  war  General  Lee, 
336 


THE  PANIC  IN  RICHMOND 

Randolph,  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  General  John 
ston.  Johnston  asked  that  Longstreet  and  Smith  be 
invited.  The  President  consented. 

After  full  consultation,  Davis  decided,  with  Lee's  ap 
proval  to  hold  the  Peninsula,  save  the  navy  yard  and 
keep  command  of  the  James.  And  Johnston  received 
orders  accordingly. 

With  characteristic  stubbornness  the  Field  Com 
mander  persisted  in  his  determination  to  retreat  with 
out  a  battle. 

With  aching  heart  Davis  sent  him  a  telegram. 

"  RICHMOND,  VA.,  May  1st,  1861. 
"  GENERAL  JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON, 
"  Yorktown,  Va. 

"  Accepting  your  conclusion  that  you  must  soon  retire, 
arrangements  are  commenced  for  the  abandonment  of  the 
navy  yard  and  removal  of  public  property  from  Norfolk 
and  the  Peninsula. 

"  Your  announcement  to-day  that  you  would  withdraw 
to-morrow  night,  takes  us  by  surprise  and  must  involve 
enormous  losses,  including  unfinished  gunboats.  Will  the 
safety  of  your  army  allow  more  time? 

"  JEFFERSON  DAVIS." 

Johnston  had  retreated  from  his  base  at  Manassas 
with  absurd  haste,  burning  enormous  stores  and  sup 
plies  of  which  the  Confederacy  was  in  desperate  need. 
The  losses  now  occasioned  by  his  hasty  withdrawal 
from  Yorktown  were  even  more  serious. 

The  destruction  of  the  iron-clad  which  had  smashed 
the  Federal  fleet  in  Hampton  Roads  sent  a  shiver  of 
horror  throughout  the  South. 

The   fiery   trial   through   which   Davis   was   passing 
brought  out  the  finest  traits  of  his  strong  character. 
He  had  received  ample  warning  that  one  of  the  first 
23  337 


THE  VICTIM 


places  marked  for  destruction  by  the  Federal  fleet  pass 
ing  up  the  Mississippi  River  was  his  home  "  Briarfield." 
He  refused  to  send  troops  to  defend  it.  His  house  was 
sacked,  his  valuable  library  destroyed,  the  place 
swept  bare  of  his  fine  blooded  stock  and  the  negroes  de 
ported  by  force. 

To  his  wife  he  wrote : 

"  You  will  see  the  notice  of  the  destruction  of  our  home. 
If  our  cause  succeeds  we  shall  not  mourn  our  personal 
deprivation ;  if  it  should  not,  why  — '  the  deluge.'  I  hope  I 
shall  be  able  to  provide  for  the  comfort  of  the  old  negroes." 

Uncle  Bob  and  Aunt  Rhinah  had  been  roughly  han 
dled  by  Butler's  men.  The  foragers  utterly  refused  to 
believe  them  when  they  told  of  their  master's  kindness 
in  giving  them  piles  of  blankets.  They  were  roughly 
informed  that  they  had  stolen  them  from  the  house  and 
their  treasures  were  confiscated  amid  the  lamentations 
of  the  aged  couple.  The  two  precious  rocking  chairs 
were  left  them  but  of  blankets  and  linens  they  were 
stripped  bare. 

With  Johnston's  army  in  retreat  toward  Richmond, 
his  rear  guard  of  but  twelve  thousand  men  under  Gen 
eral  McGruder  had  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  Davis' 
position  that  the  Peninsula  could  be  successfully  de 
fended.  McGruder's  little  army  held  McClellan  at  bay 
for  nearly  thirty  days.  He  was  dislodged  from  his 
position  with  terrible  slaughter  of  the  Union  forces. 
McClellan's  army  lost  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  men  in  this  encounter,  McGruder  less  than 
a  thousand.  Had  Johnston  concentrated  his  fifty 
thousand  men  on  this  line  McClellan  would  never  have 
taken  it,  and  the  only  iron-clad  the  South  possessed 
might  have  been  saved. 

The  daring  Commander  of  the  Merrimac,  while  Mc- 
338 


THE  PANIC  IN  RICHMOND 

Clellan  was  encamped  before  Yorktown,  had  appeared 
in  Hampton  Roads  and  challenged  the  whole  Federal 
fleet  again  to  fight.  The  Monitor  had  taken  refuge 
under  the  guns  of  Fortress  Monroe  and  refused  to  come 
out.  The  ugly  duckling  of  the  Confederacy,  in  plain 
view  of  the  whole  Federal  fleet  and  witnessed  by  French 
and  English  vessels,  captured  three  schooners  and  car 
ried  them  into  port  as  prizes  of  war. 

When  Norfolk  was  abandoned,  the  iron-clad  drew  so 
much  water  she  could  only  ascend  the  James  by  light 
ening  her  until  her  wooden  sides  showed  above  the  wa 
ter  line.  She  was  therefore  set  on  fire  and  blown  up 
on  Johnston's  retreat  uncovering  the  banks  of  the 
James  to  the  artillery  of  McClellan. 

The  Federal  fleet  could  now  dash  up  the  James. 

They  did  this  immediately  on  the  news  of  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  Confederate  iron-clad. 

On  May  fifteenth,  the  Galena,  the  AroostooJc,  the 
Monitor,  the  Port  Royal,  and  the  Stevens  steamed  up 
the  river  without  opposition  to  Drury's  Bluff  within 
twelve  miles  of  the  Capital  of  the  South.  A  half-fin 
ished  fort  mounting  four  guns  guarded  this  point. 
The  river  was  also  obstructed  by  a  double  row  of 
piles  and  sunken  vessels. 

If  the  eleven-inch  guns  of  the  Monitor  could  be 
brought  to  bear  on  this  fort,  it  was  a  problem  how 
long  the  batteries  could  be  held  in  action. 

The  wildest  alarm  swept  Richmond.  The  railroads 
were  jammed  with  frantic  people  trying  to  get  out. 
The  depots  were  piled  with  mountains  of  baggage  it 
was  impossible  to  move.  A  mass  meeting  was  held  on 
the  night  the  fleet  ascended  the  river  which  was  ad 
dressed  by  Governor  Letcher  and  Mayor  Mayo. 

The  Governor  ended  his  speech  with  a  sentence  that 
set  the  crowd  wild  with  enthusiasm. 

"  Sooner  than  see  our  beloved  city  conquered  to-day 
339 


THE  VICTIM 


by  our  enemies  we  will  lay  it  in  ashes  with  our  own 
hands ! " 

The  Legislature  of  Virginia  showed  its  grit  by  pass 
ing  a  resolution  practically  inviting  the  President  of 
the  Confederacy  to  lay  the  city  in  ruins  if  he  deemed 
wise: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  hereby  expresses 
its  desire  that  the  Capital  of  the  State  be  defended  to  the 
last  extremity,  if  such  defense  is  in  accordance  with  the 
views  of  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  that 
the  President  be  assured  that  whatever  destruction  and  loss 
of  property  of  the  State  or  of  individuals  shall  thereby  re 
sult,  will  be  cheerfully  submitted  to." 

When  the  Committee  handed  this  document  to  Jef 
ferson  Davis,  he  faced  them  with  a  look  of  resolution: 

"  Richmond  will  not  be  abandoned,  gentlemen,  until 
McClellan  marches  over  the  dead  bodies  of  our  army. 
Not  for  one  moment  have  I  considered  the  idea  of  sur 
rendering  the  Capital  — " 

"Good!" 

"Thank  God!" 

"  Hurrah  for  the  President ! " 

The  Committee  grasped  his  hand,  convinced  that  no 
base  surrender  of  their  Capital  would  be  tolerated  by 
their  leader. 

"  Rest  assured,  gentlemen,"  he  continued  earnestly, 
"  if  blood  must  be  shed,  it  shall  be  here.  No  soil  of 
the  Confederacy  could  drink  it  more  acceptably  and 
none  hold  it  more  gratefully.  We  shall  stake  all  on 
this  one  glorious  hour  for  our  Republic.  Life,  death, 
and  wounds  are  nothing  if  we  shall  be  saved  from  the 
fate  of  a  captured  Capital  and  a  humiliated  Confeder 
acy  — " 

The  Government  and  the  city  had  need  of  grim  reso 
lution.  The  Federal  fleet  moved  up  into  range  and 

340 


THE  PANIC  IN  RICHMOND 

opened  fire  on  the  batteries  at  Dmry's  Bluff.  The  lit 
tle  Confederate  gunboat  Patrick  Henry  which  had  won 
fame  in  the  first  engagement  of  the  Merrimac  steamed 
down  into  line  and  joined  her  fire  with  the  fort. 

General  Lee  had  planted  light  batteries  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  to  sweep  the  decks  of  the  fleet  with  grape 
and  cannister. 

The  little  Monitor,  the  Galena,  and  the  Stevens 
steamed  straight  up  to  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the 
battery  of  the  fort  and  opened  with  their  eleven-inch 
guns.  The  Galena  and  the  Stevens  were  iron-clad 
steamers  with  thin  armor. 

For  four  hours  the  guns  thundered.  The  batteries 
poured  a  hail  of  shot  on  the  Monitor.  They  bounded 
off  her  round-tower  and  her  water-washed  decks  like 
pebbles.  The  rifled  gun  on  the  Stevens  burst  and  dis 
abled  her.  The  Galena  was  pierced  by  heavy  shot  and 
severely  crippled,  losing  thirty-seven  of  her  men.  As 
the  Monitor  was  built,  it  was  impossible  to  make  ef 
fective  her  guns  at  close  range  against  the  high  bluff 
on  which  the  Confederate  battery  was  placed. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  crippled  fleet  slowly  moved 
down  the  river  and  Richmond  was  saved. 

When  Johnston  in  his  retreat  up  the  Peninsula 
reached  the  high  ground  near  the  Chickahominy  river, 
he  threw  out  his  lines  and  prepared  to  give  McClellan 
battle.  He  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the  President 
at  Richmond  informing  him  of  this  fact.  The  Cabinet 
was  in  session.  A  spirited  discussion  ensued.  The 
Secretary  of  War  and  the  whole  council  were  alarmed 
at  the  prospect  of  battle  on  such  an  ill  chosen  position. 
His  rear  would  rest  on  an  enormous  swamp  through 
which  the  treacherous  river  flowed.  There  were  no 
roads  or  bridges  of  sufficient  capacity  to  take  his  army 
rapidly  if  he  should  be  compelled  to  retreat. 

34-1 


THE  VICTIM 


"  I  suggest,  Mr.  President,"  said  the  Secretary  of 
War,  "  that  you  call  General  Johnston's  attention  to 
this  fact." 

Davis  shook  his  head  emphatically. 

"  No,  gentlemen.  We  have  entrusted  the  command 
to  General  Johnston.  It  is  his  business  with  all  the 
facts  before  him  to  know  what  is  best.  It  would  be 
utterly  unfair  and  very  dangerous  to  attempt  to  con 
trol  his  operations  by  advice  from  the  Capital." 

Davis  was  too  great  a  general  and  too  generous  and 
just  to  deny  Johnston  his  opportunity  for  supreme 
service  to  his  country.  It  was  the  fixed  policy  of  the 
President  to  select  the  best  man  for  the  position  to 
which  he  assigned  him  and  leave  the  responsibility  of 
action  on  the  field  to  his  judgment. 

On  the  following  morning  instead  of  a  report  of  bat 
tle  the  President  received  a  dispatch  announcing  that 
his  General  had  decided  to  cross  the  Chickahominy 
River  and  use  its  swamps  and  dangerous  crossings  as 
his  line  of  defense. 

The  Cabinet  expressed  its  sense  of  profound  relief 
and  Davis  watched  his  commander  with  an  increase  of 
confidence  in  his  judgment.  If  the  narrow  roads  and 
weak  bridges  across  the  river  were  guarded,  an  army 
of  half  his  size  could  hold  McClellan  for  months.  The 
nearest  crossing  was  twenty-five  miles  from  Richmond. 

General  Reagan  of  the  Cabinet  rode  down  that  night 
to  see  Hood  at  the  head  of  his  Texas  brigade. 

At  noon  next  day  on  returning  to  the  city  he  saw 
the  President  coming  out  of  his  office. 

The  long  arm  of  the  Chief  was  lifted  and  Reagan 
halted. 

"  Wait  a  minute  — " 

"  At  your  service,  Mr.  President." 

"  Get  your  dinner  and  ride  down  to  the  Chickahom 
iny  with  me.  I  want  to  see  General  Johnston." 

342 


THE  PANIC  IN  RICHMOND 

Reagan  shouted  an  answer  which  the  President  failed 
to  catch: 

"  You  won't  have  to  go  to  the  Chickahominy  to  see 
Johnston !  " 

Joining  Reagan  after  dinner  the  President  rode  rap 
idly  through  the  suburban  district  called  "  The 
Rockets,"  and  had  reached  the  high  ground  beyond. 
A  half  mile  away  stretched  a  vast  field  of  white  tents. 

"  Whose  camp  is  that  ?  "  Davis  asked  in  surprise. 

"  Hood's  brigade,"  Reagan  replied. 

"  Why  Hood's  on  the  Chickahominy  twenty-odd 
miles  from  here  — " 

"  I  camped  here  with  them  last  night,  sir  — " 

"  Impossible !  " 

Reagan  watched  the  thin  face  of  the  Confederate 
Chieftain  grow  deadly  pale. 

"  If  you  wish  to  see  General  Johnston,  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  you'll  find  him  in  that  red  brick  house  on  the 
right  — " 

Reagan  pointed  in  the  direction  of  the  house. 

The  President  looked  at  his  friend  a  moment,  a  quiz 
zical  expression  relieving  his  anxiety. 

"  Of  course  —  it's  a  joke,  Reagan." 

"  It's  true,  sir !  " 

Davis  shook  his  head: 

"  General  Johnston  is  on  the  Chickahominy  guard 
ing  the  crossings.  I  sent  my  aide  with  a  dispatch  to 
him  last  night." 

"  He  hadn't  returned  when  you  left  the  office  — " 

"  No  — " 

"  I  thought  not.  There  can  be  no  mistake,  sir.  I 
saw  General  Johnston  and  his  staff  enter  that  house 
and  establish  his  headquarters  there — " 

"  Here  in  the  suburbs  of  Richmond?  " 

"  Right  here,  sir  —" 

Davis  put  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  waved  to  his  aide: 
343 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Colonel  Ives  —  come !  " 

Reagan  turned  and  rode  again  into  Hood's  camp. 

The  President  rode  straight  to  Johnston's  headquar 
ters.      He  sprang  to  the  ground  with  a  quick  decisive  leap. 

The  ceremony  between  the  two  men  was  scant.     No 
words  were  wasted. 

"  You  have  moved  your  army  into  the  suburbs  of 
Richmond,  General  Johnston  ?  " 

"I  have—" 

"Why?" 

"  I  consider  this  better  ground  — " 

"  You  have  left  no  rear  guard  to  contest  McClellan's 
crossing?  " 

"  No." 

"  May  I  ask  why  you  chose  to  give  up  the  defenses  of 
such  a  river  without  a  blow  ?  " 

"  My  army  was  out  of  provisions  — " 

"  They  could  have  been  rushed  to  you  — " 

"  The  ground  near  the  Chickahominy  is  low  and 
marshy.  The  water  is  bad  — " 

"  And  you  have  come  to  the  very  gates  of  the  city  ?  " 

"  Because  the  ground  is  dry,  the  water  good,  and 
we  are  near  our  supplies  — " 

The  President's  lips  trembled  with  rage. 

"  And  McClellan  can  now  plant  his  guns  within  six 
miles  and  his  soldiers  hear  our  church  bells  on  Sun 
day—" 

"  Possibly  — " 

The  President's  eye  pierced  his  General. 

"  Richmond  is  to  be  surrendered  without  a  battle  ?  " 

"  That  depends,  sir,  upon  conditions  — " 
The  Confederate  Chief  suddenly  threw  his  thin  hands 
above  his  head  and  faced  his  stubborn  sulking  Com 
mander. 

"  If  you  are  not  going  to  give  battle,  I'll  appoint  a 
man  in  your  place  who  will  — " 

344 


THE  PANIC  IN  RICHMOND 

Before  Johnston  could  reply  the  President  turned 
on  his  heel,  waved  to  Colonel  Ives,  mounted  his  horse 
and  dashed  into  the  city. 

His  Cabinet  was  called  in  hasty  consultation  with 
General  Lee. 

Davis  turned  to  his  counselors. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  just  held  a  most  amazing  con 
ference  with  General  Johnston.  You  were  afraid  he 
would  fight  beyond  the  Chickahominy.  He  has  crossed 
the  river,  left  its  natural  defenses  unguarded,  and  has 
run  all  the  way  to  town  without  pause.  I  have  told 
him  to  fight  or  get  out  of  the  saddle.  In  my  judgment 
he  intends  to  back  straight  through  the  city  and  aban 
don  it  without  a  blow.  We  must  face  the  situation." 

He  turned  to  Lee.  The  question  he  was  going  to  put 
to  the  man  in  whom  he  had  supreme  confidence  would 
test  both  his  judgment  and  his  character.  On  his  an 
swer  would  hang  his  career.  If  it  should  be  what  the 
Confederate  Chief  believed,  Lee  was  the  man  of  des 
tiny  and  his  hour  had  struck. 

"  In  case  Johnston  abandons  Richmond,"  the  Presi 
dent  slowly  began,  "  where  in  your  opinion,  General 
Lee,  is  the  next  best  line  of  defense?  " 

Lee's  fine  mouth  was  set  for  a  moment.  He  spoke 
at  first  with  deliberation. 

"  As  a  military  engineer,  my  answer  is  simple.  The 
next  best  line  of  defense  would  be  at  Staten  River  — 
but  — " 

He  suddenly  leaped  to  his  feet,  his  eyes  streaming 
with  tears. 

"  Richmond  must  not  be  given  up  —  it  shall  not  be 
given  up !  " 

Davis  sprang  to  his  side  and  clasped  Lee's  hand. 

"  So  say  I,  General !  " 

From  that  moment  the  President  and  his  chief  mili 
tary  adviser  lived  on  Johnston's  battle  line,  Lee  ready 

345 


THE  VICTIM 


at  a  moment's  notice  to  spring  into  the  saddle  and  hurl 
his  men  against  McClellan  the  moment  Johnston  should 
falter. 

The  Commander  was  forced  to  a  decision  for  battle. 
He  could  not  allow  his  arch  enemy  to  remove  him  with 
out  a  fight. 

The  retreat  across  the  Chickahominy  had  given  Mc 
Clellan  an  enormous  advantage  which  his  skillful  eye 
saw  at  once.  He  threw  two  grand  divisions  of  his  army 
across  the  river  and  pushed  his  siege  guns  up  within  six 
miles  of  Richmond.  His  engineers  immediately  built 
substantial  bridges  across  the  stream  over  which  he  could 
move  in  safety  his  heaviest  guns  in  any  emergency, 
either  for  reinforcements  or  retreat. 

He  swung  his  right  wing  far  to  the  north  in  a  wide 
circling  movement  until  he  was  in  easy  touch  with  Mc 
Dowell's  forty  thousand  men  at  Fredericksburg. 

McClellan  was  within  sight  of  the  consummation  of  his 
hopes.  When  this  wide  movement  of  his  army  had  been 
successfully  made  without  an  arm  lifted  to  oppose,  he 
climbed  a  tall  tree  within  sight  of  Richmond  from  which 
he  could  view  the  magnificent  panorama. 

A  solid  wall  of  living  blue  with  glittering  bayonets 
and  black-fanged  batteries  of  artillery,  his  army  spread 
for  ten  miles.  Beyond  them  here  and  there  only  he 
saw  patches  of  crouching  gray  in  the  underbrush  or 
crawling  through  the  marshes. 

The  Northern  Commander  came  down  from  his  perch 
and  threw  his  arms  around  his  aide : 

"  We've  got  them,  boy !  "  he  cried  enthusiastically. 
"  We've  got  them !  " 

It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  boastful  ora 
torical  Confederate  Congress  should  have  taken  to  their 
heels.  They  ran  in  such  haste,  the  people  of  Richmond 
began  to  laugh  and  in  their  laughter  took  fresh  cour 
age. 

346 


THE  PANIC  IN  RICHMOND 

A  paper  printed  in  double  leads  on  its  first  page  a 
remarkable  account  of  the  stampede : 

"  For  fear  of  accident  on  the  railroad,  the  stampeded 
Congress  left  in  a  number  of  the  strongest  and  swiftest  of 
our  new  canal-boats.  The  boats  were  drawn  by  mules  of 
established  sweetness  of  temper.  To  protect  our  law 
makers  from  snakes  and  bullfrogs  that  infest  the  line  of 
the  canal,  General  Winder  detailed  a  regiment  of  ladies  to 
march  in  advance  of  the  mules,  and  clear  the  tow-path  of 
these  troublesome  pirates.  The  ladies  are  ordered  to  ac 
company  the  Conferedate  Congress  to  a  secluded  cave  in 
the  mountains  of  Hepsidan,  and  leave  them  there  in  charge 
of  the  children  of  that  vicinity  until  McClellan  thinks 
proper  to  let  them  come  forth.  The  ladies  will  at  once  re 
turn  to  the  defense  of  their  country." 

The  President  for  a  brief  time  was  free  of  his  critics. 

On  May  thirty-first,  Johnston's  army,  under  the  di 
rect  eye  of  Davis  and  Lee  on  the  field,  gave  battle  to 
McClellan's  left  wing  —  comprising  the  two  grand  divi 
sions  that  had  been  pushed  across  the  Chickahominy 
to  the  environs  of  Richmond. 

The  opening  attack  was  delayed  by  the  failure  of 
General  Holmes  to  strike  McClellan's  rear  as  planned. 
A  terrific  rain  storm  the  night  before  had  flooded  a 
stream  and  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  cross. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  Longstreet  and  Hill  hurled 
their  divisions  through  the  thick  woods  and  marshes  on 
McClellan. 

Longstreet's  men  drove  before  them  the  clouds  of  blue 
skirmishers,  plunged  into  the  marshes  with  water  two 
feet  deep  and  dashed  on  the  fortified  lines  of  the  enemy. 
The  Southerners  crept  through  the  dense  underbrush 
to  the  very  muzzles  of  the  guns  in  the  redoubts,  charged, 
cleared  them,  grappling  hand  to  hand  with  the  desper 
ate  men  who  fought  like  demons. 

347 


THE  VICTIM 


Line  after  line  was  thus  carried  until  at  nightfall  Mc- 
Clellan's  left  wing  had  been  pushed  back  over  two  miles 
through  swamp  and  waters  red  with  blood. 

The  slaughter  had  been  frightful  in  the  few  hours  in 
which  the  battle  had  raged.  On  the  Confederate  left 
where  Johnston  commanded  in  person  the  Union  army 
held  its  position  until  dark,  unbroken. 

Johnston  fell  from  his  horse  wounded  and  Davis  on 
the  field  immediately  appointed  General  Lee  to  com 
mand. 

The  appointment  of  Lee  to  be  Commander-in-Chief 
not  only  intensified  the  hatred  of  Johnston  for  the 
President,  it  made  G.  W.  Smith,  the  man  who  was  John 
ston's  second,  his  implacable  enemy  for  life.  Tech 
nically  G.  W.  Smith  would  have  succeeded  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  army  had  not  Davis  exercised  his  power  on 
the  field  of  battle  to  appoint  the  man  of  his  choice. 

In  no  act  of  his  long,  eventful  life  did  Davis  evince 
such  clearness  of  vision  and  quick  decision,  under  try 
ing  conditions.  Lee  had  failed  in  Western  Virginia 
and  McClellan  had  out-generaled  him,  the  yellow  jour 
nals  had  declared.  They  called  Lee  "  Old  Spade."  So 
intense  was  the  opposition  to  Lee  that  Davis  had  sent 
him  to  erect  the  coast  defenses  of  South  Carolina.  The 
Governor  of  the  State  protested  against  the  appoint 
ment  of  so  incompetent  a  man  to  this  important  work. 
Davis  sent  the  Governor  an  emphatic  message  in 
reply : 

"  If  Robert  E.  Lee  is  not  a  general  I  have  none  to 
send  you." 

Davis  now  called  the  man  whom  McClellan  had 
defeated  to  the  supreme  command  against  McClellan 
at  the  head  of  his  grand  army  in  sight  of  the  house  tops 
of  Richmond.  Only  a  leader  of  the  highest  genius 
could  have  dared  to  make  such  a  decision  in  such  a 
crisis. 

348 


THE  PANIC  IN  RICHMOND 

Davis  made  it  without  a  moment's  hesitation  and  in 
that  act  of  individual  will  gave  to  the  world  the  great 
est  commander  of  the  age. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  DELIVERANCE 

From  the  moment  Davis  placed  Lee  in  the  saddle  or 
der  slowly  emerged  from  chaotic  conditions  and  the  first 
rays  of  light  began  to  illumine  the  fortunes  of  the  Con 
federacy. 

Modest  and  unassuming  in  his  personality,  he  demon 
strated  from  the  first  his  skill  as  an  organizer  and  his 
power  in  the  conception  and  execution  of  far-reaching 
strategy. 

From  the  moment  he  breathed  his  spirit  into  the  army 
he  made  it  a  rapid,  compact,  accurate  and  terrible  en 
gine  of  war.  The  contemptible  assault  of  the  Richmond 
Examiner  fell  harmless  from  the  armor  of  his  genius. 
Davis  was  bitterly  denounced  for  his  favoritism  in  pass 
ing  G.  W.  Smith  and  appointing  Governor  Letcher's 
pet.  He  was  accused  of  playing  a  game  of  low  politics 
to  make  "  a  spawn  of  West  Point  "  the  next  Governor 
of  Virginia.  But  events  moved  with  a  pace  too  swift 
to  give  the  yellow  journals  or  the  demagogues  time  to 
get  their  breath. 

Lee  had  sent  Jackson  into  the  Valley  of  the  Shenan- 
doah  to  make  a  diversion  which  might  hold  the  ar 
mies  moving  on  the  Capital  from  the  west  and  at  the 
same  time  puzzle  McDowell  at  Fredericksburg. 

Lee,  Jackson  and  Davis  were  three  men  who  worked 
in  perfect  harmony  from  the  moment  they  met  in  their 
first  council  of  war  at  the  White  House  of  the  Confed 
eracy.  So  perfect  was  Lee's  confidence  in  Jackson,  he 

350 


THE  DELIVERANCE 


was  sent  into  the  Valley  unhampered  by  instructions 
which  would  interfere  with  the  execution  of  any  move 
ment  his  genius  might  suggest. 

Left  thus  to  his  own  initiative,  Jackson  conceived 
the  most  brilliant  series  of  engagements  in  the  history 
of  modern  war.  He  determined  to  use  his  infantry  by 
forced  marches  to  cover  in  a  day  the  ground  usually 
made  by  cavalry  and  fall  on  the  armies  of  his  opponents 
one  by  one  before  they  could  form  a  juncture. 

On  May  23,  by  a  swift,  silent  march  of  his  little  army 
of  fifteen  thousand  men,  he  took  Banks  completely  by 
surprise,  crushed  and  captured  his  advance  guard  at 
Fort  Royal,  struck  him  in  the  flank  and  drove  him-  back 
into  Strassburg,  through  Winchester,  and  hurled  his 
shattered  army  in  confusion  and  panic  across  the  Poto 
mac  on  its  Washington  base. 

Desperate  alarm  swept  the  Capital  of  the  Union. 
Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War,  issued  a  frantic  appeal 
to  the  Governors  of  the  Northern  States  for  militia  to 
defend  Washington.  Panic-  reigned  in  the  cities  of  the 
North.  Governors  and  mayors  issued  the  most  urgent 
appeals  for  enlistments. 

Fremont  was  ordered  to  move  with  all  possible  haste 
and  form  a  juncture  with  a  division  of  McDowell's 
army  and  cut  off  Jackson's  line  of  retreat. 

The  wily  Confederate  General  wheeled  suddenly  and 
rushed  on  Fremont  before  Shields  could  reach  him.  On 
June  8,  at  Cross  Keys,  he  crushed  Fremont,  turned  with 
sudden  eagle  swoop  and  defeated  Shields  at  Port  Re 
public. 

Washington  believed  that  Jackson  commanded  an 
enormous  army,  and  that  the  National  Capital  was  in 
danger  of  his  invading  host.  The  defeated  armies  of 
Milroy,  Banks,  Fremont  and  Shields  were  all  drawn  in 
to  defend  the  city. 

In  this  campaign  of  a  few  weeks  Jackson  had 
351 


THE  VICTIM 


marched  his  infantry  six  hundred  miles-,  fought  four 
pitched  battles  and  seven  minor  engagements.  He  had 
defeated  four  armies,  each  greater  than  his  own,  cap 
tured  seven  pieces  of  artillery,  ten  thousand  stands  of 
arms,  four  thousand  prisoners  and  enormous  stores  of 
provisions  and  ammunition.  It  required  a  train  of 
wagons  twelve  miles  long  to  transport  his  treasures  — 
every  pound  of  which  he  saved  for  his  Government. 

He  was  never  surprised,  never  defeated,  never  lost  a 
train  or  an  organized  piece  of  his  army,  put  out  of  com 
mission  sixty  thousand  Northern  soldiers  under  four 
distinguished  generals  and  in  obedience  to  Lee's  com 
mand  was  now  sweeping  through  the  mountain*  passes 
to  the  relief  c~f  Richmond. 

While  Jackson  was  thus  moving  to  join  his  forces 
with  Lee,  Washington  was  shivering  in  fear  of  his  at 
tack. 

On  the  day  Jackson  was  scheduled  to  fall  on  the  flank 
of  McClellan's  besieging  army  Lee  moved  his  men  to 
the  assault.  The  first  battle  which  Johnston  had 
joined  at  Seven  Pines  had  only  checked  McClellan's 
advance. 

The  Grand  Army  of  the  Potomac  still  lay  on  its  orig 
inal  lines,  and  McClellan  had  used  every  day  in 
strengthening  his  entrenchments.  Lee  had  built  de 
fensive  works  to  enable  a  part  of  his  army  to  defend 
the  city  while  he  should  throw  the  flower  of  his  gray  sol 
diers  on  his  enemy  in  a  desperate  flank  assault  in  co 
operation  with  Jackson. 

On  the  arrival  of  his  triumphant  lieutenant  from  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  Lee  suddenly  sprang  on-  McClellan 
with  £he  leap  of  a  lion.  The  Northern  Commander 
fought  with  terrible  courage,  amazed  and  uneasy  over 
the  discovery  that  Jadkson  had  suddenly  appeared  on 
his  flank. 

Within  thirty-six  houre  McClellan's  right  wing  was 

352 


THE  DELIVERANCE 


crushed  and  in  retreat.  Within  seven  days  Lee  drove 
his  Grand  Army  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  men 
from  the  gates  of  Richmond  thirty-five  miles  and  hurled 
them  on  the  ban-ks  of  the  James  at  Harrison's  Landing 
under  the  shelter  of  the  Federal  gunboats. 

Instead  of  marching  in  triumph  through  the  streets 
of  the  Confederate  Capital,  McClellan  congratulated 
himself  and  his  Government  on  his  good  fortune  in  sav 
ing  his  army  from  annihilation.  His  broken  columns 
had  reached  a  place  of  safety  after  a  series  of  defeats 
which  had  demoralized  his  command  and  resulted  in  the 
loss  of  ten  thousand  prisoners  and  ten  thousand  more 
in  killed  and  wounded.  He  had  been  compelled  to  aban 
don  or  burn  stores  valued  at  millions.  The  South  had 
captured  thirty-five  thousand  stand  of  arms  and  fifty- 
two  pieces  of  artillery. 

Lee  in  his  report  modestly  expressed  his  disappoint 
ment  that  greater  results  had  not  been  achieved. 

"  Under  ordinary  circumstances,"  he  wrote,  "  the 
Federal  army  should  have  been  destroyed.  Its  escape 
was  due  to  causes  already  stated.  Prominent  among 
them  was  the  want  of  correct  and  timely  information. 
The  first,  attributable  chiefly  to  the  character  of  the 
country,  enabled  General  McClellan  skillfully  to  conceal 
his  retreat  and  to  add  much  to  the  obstructions  with 
which  nature  had  beset  the  way  of  our  pursuing  column. 
But  regret  that  more  was-  not  accomplished  gives  way 
to  gratitude  to  the  Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  Universe  for 
the  results  achieved." 

Jackson,  the  grim  soldier,  whose  habit  was  to  pray 
all  night  before  battle,  wrote  with  the  fervor  of  the  re 
ligious  enthusiast. 

"  Undying  gratitude  is-  due  to  God  for  this  great  vic 
tory  —  by  which  despondency  increases  in  the  North, 
hope  brightens  in  the  South  and  the  Capital  of  Virginia 
and  the  Confederacy  is-  saved." 
24  353 


THE  VICTIM 


A  wave  of  exultation  swept  the  South  —  while  Death^ 
stalked  through  the  streets  of  Richmond. 

Instead  of  the  tramp  of  victorious  hosts,  their  bayo 
nets  glittering  in  the  sunlight,  which  Socola  had  confi 
dently  expected,  he  watched  from  the  windows  of  the 
Department  of  State  the  interminable  lines  of  ambu 
lances-  bearing  the  wounded  from  the  fields  of  McClel- 
lan's  seven-days'  battle. 

The  darkened  room  on  Church  Hill  was  opened. 
Miss  Van  Lew  had  watched  the  glass  rattle  under  the 
thunder  of  McClellan's  guns,  and  then  with  sinking 
heart  heard  their  roar  fade  in  the  distance  until  only 
the  rumble  of  the  ambulances  through  the  streets  told 
that  he  had  been  there.  She  burned  the  flag.  It  was 
too  dangerous  a  piece  of  bunting  to  risk  in  her  house 
now.  It  would  be  many  weary  months  before  she  would 
need  another. 

Through  every  hour  of  the  day  and  night  since  Lee 
sprang  on  McClellan,  those  never-ending  lines  of  am 
bulances  had  wound  their  way  through  the  streets. 
Every  store  and  every  home  and  every  public  building 
had  been  converted  into  a  hospital.  The  counters  of 
trade  were  moved  aside  and  through  the  plate  glass 
along  the  crowded  streets  could  be  seen  the  long  rows 
of  pallets  on  which  the  mangled  bodies  of  the  wounded 
lay.  Every  home  set  aside  at  least  one  room  for  the 
wounded  boys  of  the  South. 

The  heart-rending  cries  of  the  men  from  the  wagons 
as  they  jolted  over  the  cobble  stones  rose  day  and  night 
—  a  sad,  weird  requiem  of  agony,  half-groan,  half- 
chant,  to  which  the  ear  of  pity  could  never  grow  indif 
ferent. 

Death  was  the  one  figure  now  with  which  every  man, 
woman  and  child  was  familiar.  The  rattle  of  the  dead- 
wagons  could  be  heard  at  every  turn.  They  piled  them 
high,  these  uncoffined  bodies  of  the  brave,  and  hurried 

354 


THE  DELIVERANCE 


them  under  the  burning  sun  to  the  trenches  outside 
the  city.  They  piled  them  in  long  heaps  to  await  the 
slow  work  of  the  tired  grave-diggers.  The  frail  board 
coffins  in  which  they  were  placed  at  last  would  often 
burst  from  the  swelling  corpse.  The  air  was  filled  with 
poisonous  odors. 

The  hospitals  were  jammed  with  swollen,  disfigured 
bodies  of  the  wounded  and  the  dying.  Gangrene  and 
erysipelas  did  their  work  each  hour  in  the  weltering  heat 
of  mid-summer. 

But  the  South  received  her  dead  and  mangled  boys 
with  a  majesty  of  grief  that  gave  no  cry  to  the  ear  of 
the  world.  Mothers  lifted  their  eyes  from  the  faces  of 
their  dead  and  firmly  spoke  the  words  of  resignation: 

"  Thy  will,  O  Lord,  be  done !  " 

Her  houses  were  filled  with  the  wounded,  the  dying 
and  the  dead,  but  Richmond  lifted  up  her  head.  The 
fields  about  her  were  covered  with  imperishable  glory. 

The  Confederacy  had  won  immortality. 

The  women  of  the  South  resolved  to  wear  no  mourn 
ing  for  their  dead.  Their  boys  had  laid  their  lives  a 
joyous  offering  on  their  country's  altar.  They  would 
make  no  cry. 

Johnston  had  lost  six  thousand  and  eighty-four  men, 
dead,  wounded  and  missing  at  Seven  Pines,  and  Lee  had 
lost  seventeen  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-three 
in  seven  days  of  continuous  battle.  But  the  South  was 
thrilled  with  the  joy  of  a  great  deliverance. 

Jefferson  Davis  in  his  address  to  the  army  expresesd 
the  universal  feeling  of  his  people: 

"  RICHMOND,  July  5,  1862. 
"  To  the  Army  of  Eastern  Virginia: 
"Soldiers: 

"  I  congratulate  you  upon  the  series  of  brilliant  victo 
ries  which,  under  the  favor  of  Divine  Providence,  you  have 
lately  won;  and  as  President  of  the  Confederate  States^ 

355 


THE  VICTIM 


hereby  tender  to  you  the  thanks  of  the  country,  whose  just 
cause  you  have  so  skillfuly  and  heroically  saved. 

"  Ten  days  ago  an  invading  army,  vastly  superior  to 
yours  in  numbers  and  the  material  of  war,  closely  be 
leaguered  your  Capital  and  vauntingly  proclaimed  our 
speedy  conquest.  You  marched  to  attack  the  enemy  in  his 
entrenchments.  With  well-directed  movements  and  death- 
defying  valor  you  charged  upon  him  in  his  strong  positions, 
drove  him  from  field  to  field  over  a  distance  of  more  than 
thirty-five  miles,  and,  despite  his  reinforcements,  compelled 
him  to  seek  safety  under  the  cover  of  his  gunboats,  where 
he  now  lies  cowering  before  the  army  so  lately  despised  and 
threatened  with  utter  subjugation. 

"  The  fortitude  with  which  you  have  borne  trial  and  pri 
vation,  the  gallantry  with  which  you  have  entered  into  each 
successive  battle,  must  have  been  witnessed  to  be  fully  ap 
preciated.  A  grateful  people  will  not  fail  to  recognize  you 
and  to  bear  you  in  loved  remembrance.  Well  may  it  be 
said  of  you  that  you  have  '  done  enough  for  glory,'  but  duty 
to  a  suffering  country  and  to  the  cause  of  Constitutional 
liberty  claims  for  you  yet  further  effort.  Let  it  be  your 
pride  to  relax  in  nothing  which  can  promote  your  future 
efficiency;  your  one  great  object  being  to  drive  the  invader 
from  your  soil,  and,  carrying  your  standards  beyond  the 
outer  borders  of  the  Confederacy,  to  wring  from  an  un 
scrupulous  foe  the  recognition  of  your  birthright  and  inde 
pendence/' 

Within  the  year  from  the  fatal  victory  at  Bull  Run 
the  South  had  through  bitterness,  tears  and  defeat  at 
last  found  herself.  Under  the  firm  and  wise  leadership 
of  Davis,  her  disasters  had  been  repaired  and  her  army 
brought  to  the  highest  standard  of  efficiency. 

At  the  head  of  her  armies  now  stood  Robert  E.  Lee 
and  Stonewall  Jackson.  Their  fame  filled  the  world. 
In  the  west,  Braxton  Bragg,  a  brilliant  and  efficient 
commander,  was  marshaling  his  army  to  drive  the  Union 
lines  into  Kentucky. 

From  the  depths  of  despair  the  South  rose  to  the 
356 


THE  DELIVERANCE 


heights  of  daring  assurance.  For  the  moment  the 
junta  of  politicians  led  by  Senator  Barton  were  com 
pelled  to  halt  in  their  assaults  on  the  President.  The 
people  of  the  South  had  forgotten  the  issue  of  the  date 
on  Joseph  E.  Johnston's  commission  as  general. 

With  characteristic  foolhardiness,  however,  Barton 
determined  that  they  should  not  forget  it.  He  opened 
a  series  of  bitter  attacks  on  Davis  for  the  appalling- 
lack  of  management  which  had  permitted  McClellan  to 
save  what  was  left  of  his  army.  He  boldly  proclaimed 
the  amazing  doctrine  that  the  wounding  of  Johnston 
at  Seven  Pines  was  an  irreparable  disaster  to  the 
South. 

"  Had  Johnston  remained  in  command,"  he  loudly 
contended,  "  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  would  have 
annihilated  or  captured  McClellan's  whole  army  and 
ended  the  war." 

On  this  platform  he  gave  a  banquet  to  General  John 
ston  on  the  occasion  of  his  departure  from  Richmond 
for  his  new  command  in  the  wrest.  The  Senator  deter 
mined  to  hold  his  faction  together  for  future  assaults. 
Lee's  record  was  yet  too  recent  to  permit  the  politicians 
to  surrender  without  a  fight. 

The  banquet  was  to  be  a  love  feast  at  which  all  fac 
tions  opposed  to  Davis  should  be  united  behind  the  ban 
ner  of  Johnston.  Henry  S.  Foote  had  quarreled  with 
William  L.  Yancey.  These  two  fire-eaters  were  en 
thusiastic  partisans  of  his  General. 

Major  Barbour,  Johnston's  chief  quartermaster,  pre 
sided  at  the  head  of  the  banquet  table  in  Old  Tom  Grif 
fin's  place  on  Main  Street.  Foote  was  seated  on  his 
right,  Governor  Milledge  T.  Bonham  of  South  Carolina 
next.  Then  came  Gustavus  W.  Smith,  whose  hatred  of 
Davis  was  implacable  for  daring  to  advance  Robert  E. 
Le«  over  his  head.  Next  sat  John  U.  Daniel,  the  ed 
itor  of  Richmond's  yellow  journal,  the  Exammer* 

357 


THE  VICTIM 


Daniel's  arm  was  in  a  sling.     He  had  been  by  John 
ston's  side  when  wounded  at  Seven  Pines. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  table  sat  Major  Moore,  the 
assistant  quartermaster,  and  by  his  side  on  the  left, 
General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  full  of  wounds  in  the  flesh 
and  grievances  of  soul.  On  his  right  was  John  B.  Floyd 
of  Fort  Donelson  fame  whom  Davis  had  relieved  of  his 
command.  And  next  William  L.  Yancey,  the  match 
less  orator  of  secession,  whose  hatred  of  Davis  was 
greater  than  this  old  hatred  of  Abolition. 

The  feast  was  such  as  only  Tom  Griffin  knew  how 
to  prepare. 

Johnston  as  usual  was  grave  and  taciturn,  still  suffer 
ing  from  his  unhealed  wound.  Yancey  and  Foote,  the 
reconciled  friends  who  had  shaken  hands  in  a  common 
cause,  were  the  life  of  the  party. 

Daniel,  the  editor  of  the  organ  of  the  Soreheads  and 
Irreconcilables,  was  even  more  taciturn  than  his  beloved 
Chief.  General  Bonham  sang  a  love  song.  Yancey 
and  Foote  vied  with  each  other  in  the  brilliancy  of  their 
wit. 

When  the  banquet  had  lasted  for  two  hours,  Yancey 
turned  to  Old  Tom  Griffin  and  said : 

"  Fresh  glasses  now  and  bumpers  of  champagne ! " 

When  the  glasses  were  filled  the  Alabama  orator  lifted 
his  glass. 

"  This  toast  is  to  be  drunk  standing,  gentlemen !  " 

Every  man  save  Johnston  sprang  to  his  feet.  Yan 
cey  looked  straight  into  the  eye  of  the  General  and 
shouted : 

"  Gentlemen !  We  drink  to  the  health  of  the  only 
man  who  can  save  the  Southern  Confederacy  —  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston !  " 

The  glasses  were  emptied  and  a  shout  of  applause 
rang  from  every  banqueter  save  one.  The  General  had 
not  yet  touched  his  glass. 

358 


THE  DELIVERANCE 


Without  rising,  Johnston  lifted  his  eyes  and  said  in 
grave  tones: 

"  Mr.  Yancey,  the  man  you  describe  is  now  in  the  field 
—  his  name  is  Robert  E.  Lee.  I  drink  to  his  health." 

Yancey's  quick  wit  answered  in  a  flash : 

"  I  can  only  reply  to  you,  sir,  as  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses  did  to  General  Washington  — 
'  Your  modesty  is  only  equaled  by  your  valor!  * " 

Johnston's  tribute  to  Lee  was  genuine,  and  yet  nurs 
ing  his  grudge  against  the  President  with  malignant  in 
tensity  he  left  for  the  west,  encouraging  his  friends  to 
fight  the  Chieftain  of  the  Confederacy  with  tooth  and 
nail  and  that  to  the  last  ditchc 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
LOVE  AND  WAR 

Captain  Richard  Welford  reached  Richmond  from 
the  Western  army  two  days  after  Lee  had  driven  Mc- 
Clellan  under  the  shelter  of  the  navy.  He  had  been 
wounded  in  battle,  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Captain 
for  gallantry  on  the  field  and  sent  home  on  furlough 
for  two  months. 

He  used  his  left  hand  to  raise  the  knocker  on  Jen 
nie's  door.  His  right  arm  was  yet  in  a  sling.  His 
heart  was  beating  a  wild  march  as  he  rushed  from  the 
hotel  to  the  Senator's  house.  He  had  not  heard  from 
Jennie  in  two  months  but  the  communications  of  the 
Western  army  had  been  cut  more  than  once  and  he 
thought  nothing  of  the  long  silence.  It  had  only  made 
his  hunger  to  see  the  girl  he  loved  the  more  acute.  He 
had  fairly  shouted  his  joy  when  a  piece  of  shell  broke 
his  right  arm  and  hurled  him  from  his  horse.  He  never 
thought  of  promotion  for  gallantry.  It  came  as  a 
surprise.  The  one  hope  that  leaped  when  he  scrambled 
to  his  feet  and  felt  the  helpless  arm  hanging  by  his 
side  was  to  see  the  girl  he  had  left  behind. 

"  Glory  to  God !  "  he  murmured  fervently,  "  I'll  go 
to  her  now !  " 

He  was  just  a  little  proud  of  that  broken  arm  as  he 
waited  for  her  entrance.  The  shoulder  straps  he  wore 
looked  well,  too.  She  would  be  surprised.  It  had  all 
happened  so  quickly,  no  account  had  yet  reached  the 
Richmond  papers. 

360 


LOVE  AND  WAR 


Jennie  bounded  into  the  room  with  a  cry  of  joy. 

"  Oh,  Dick,  I'm  so  glad  to  see  you !  " 

He  smiled  and  extended  his  left  hand. 

"  Jennie !  "  was  all  he  could  say. 

"You  are  wounded?"  she  whispered. 

Dick  nodded. 

"  Yep  —  a  shell  toppled  me  over  but  I  was  on  my 
feet  in  a  minute  laughing  —  and  I'll  bet  you  couldn't 
guess  what  about?" 

"  No  — " 

"  Laughed  because  I  knew  I'd  get  to  see  you  — " 

"  I'm  so  proud  of  you !  "  she  cried  through  her  tears. 

"Are  you?"  he  asked  tenderly. 

"  Of  course  I  am  —  don't  }^ou  think  I  know  what 
those  shoulder  straps  mean?  " 

"  Well,  I  just  care  because  you  care,  Jennie — " 

"  You're  a  brave  Southern  boy  fighting  for  our 
rights  —  you  care  for  that,  too." 

"  Oh  yes,  of  course,  but  that's  not  the  big  thing  after 
all,  little  girl—" 

He  paused  and  seized  her  hand. 

She  blushed  and  drew  it  gently  away. 

"  Please  —  not  that  now  — " 

"Why  — not  now?" 

He  asked  the  question  in  tones  so  low  they  were  al 
most  a  gasp.  He  felt  his  doom  in  the  way  she  had 
withdrawn  her  hand. 

"  Because  — "  she  hesitated  just  a  moment  to  strike 
the  blow  she  knew  would  hurt  so  pitifully  and  then  went 
on  firmly,  "  I've  met  my  fate,  Dick  —  and  pledged  him 
my  heart." 

The  Captain  lifted  his  shoulders  with  a  little  move 
ment  of  soldierly  pride,  held  himself  firmly,  mastered 
the  first  rush  of  despair  and  then  spoke  with  assumed 
indifference : 

"Socola?" 

361 


THE  VICTIM 


Jennie  smiled  faintly. 

"  Yes." 

He  rose  awkwardly  and  started  to  the  door.  Jennie 
placed  her  hand  on  his  wounded  arm  with  a  gesture  of 
pathetic  protest. 

"Dick!" 

"  I  can't  help  it,  I  must  go  — " 

"  Not  like  this !  " 

"  I  can't  smile  and  lie  to  you.  It  means  too  much. 
I  hate  that  man.  He's  a  scoundrel,  if  God  ever  made 
one—" 

Jennie's  hand  slipped  from  his  arm. 

"  That  will  do  now  —  not  another  word  — " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Jennie,"  he  stammered.  "  I 
didn't  think  what  I  was  saying,  honey.  It  just  popped 
out  because  it  was  inside.  You'll  forgive  me?" 

The  anger  died  in  her  eyes  and  she  took  his  out 
stretched  hand. 

"  Of  course,  I  understand  —  and  I'm  sorry.  I  ap 
preciate  the  love  you've  given  me.  I  wish  in  my  heart 
I  could  have  returned  it.  You  deserve  it  — " 

The  Captain  lifted  his  left  hand. 

"  No  pity,  please.  I'm  man  enough  to  fight  —  and 
I'm  going  to  fight.  You're  not  yet  Signora  Socola  — " 

The  girl  laughed. 

"  That's  more  like  a  soldier !  " 

""  We'll  be  friends  anyhow,  Jennie  ?  " 

«  Always." 

The  Captain  left  the  Senator's  house  with  a  grim 
smile  playing  about  his  strong  mouth.  He  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  fight  for  love  and  country  on  the  same 
base.  He  would  ask  for  his  transfer  to  the  Secret 
Service  of  the  Confederacy. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 

Jefferson  Davis  had  created  the  most  compact  and 
terrible  engine  of  war  set  in  motion  since  Napoleon 
founded  the  Empire  of  France.  It  had  been  done  un 
der  conditions  of  incredible  difficulty,  but  it  had  been 
done.  The  smashing  of  McClellan's  army  brought  to 
the  North  the  painful  realization  of  this  fact.  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  must  call  for  another  half  million  soldiers 
and  no  man  could  foresee  the  end. 

Davis  had  begun  in  April,  1861,  without  an  arsenal, 
laboratory  or  powder  mill  of  any  capacity,  and  with 
no  foundry  or  rolling  mill  for  iron  except  the  little 
Tredegar  works  in  Richmond. 

He  had  supplied  them. 

Harassed  by  an  army  of  half  a  million  men  in  blue 
led  by  able  generals  and  throttled  by  a  cable  of  steel 
which  the  navy  had  drawn  about  his  coast  line,  he  had 
done  this  work  and  at  the  same  time  held  his  own  defi 
antly  and  successfully.  Crippled  by  a  depreciated  cur 
rency,  assaulted  daily  by  a  powerful  conspiracy  of 
sore-head  politicians  and  quarreling  generals,  strangled 
by  a  blockade  that  deprived  him  of  nearly  all  means 
of  foreign  aid  —  he  had  still  succeeded  in  raising  the 
needed  money.  Unable  to  use  the  labor  of  slaves  ex 
cept  in  the  unskilled  work  of  farms,  hampered  by  lack 
of  transportation  even  of  food  for  the  army,  with  no 
stock  of  war  material  on  hand, —  steel,  copper,  leather 
or  iron  with  which  to  build  his  establishments  —  yet 

363 


THE  VICTIM 


with  quiet  persistence  he  set  himself  to  solve  these 
problems  and  succeeded. 

He  had  created,  apparently  out  of  nothing,  foundries 
and  rolling  mills  at  Selma,  Richmond,  Atlanta  and 
Macon,  smelting  works  at  Petersburg,  a  chemical  lab 
oratory  at  Charlotte,  a  powder  mill  superior  to  any 
of  the  United  States  and  unsurpassed  by  any  in  Eu 
rope, —  a  mighty  chain  of  arsenals,  armories,  and  lab 
oratories  equal  in  their  capacity  and  appointments  to 
the  best  of  those  in  the  North,  stretching  link  by  link 
from  Tirginia  to  Alabama. 

He  established  artificial  niter  beds  at  Richmond,  Co 
lumbus,  Charleston,  Savannah,  Mobile  and  Selma  of 
sufficient  capacity  to  supply  the  niter  needed  in  the  pow 
der  mills. 

Mines  for  iron,  lead  and  copper  were  opened  and  op 
erated.  Manufactories  for  the  production  of  sulphuric 
and  nitric  acid  were  established  and  successfully  oper 
ated. 

Minor  articles  were  supplied  by  devices  hitherto  un 
heard  of  in  the  equipment  of  armies.  Leather  was 
scarce  and  its  supply  impossible  in  the  quantities  de 
manded. 

Knapsacks  were  abolished  and  haversacks  of  cloth 
made  by  patriotic  women  with  their  needles  took  their 
places.  The  scant  supply  of  leather  was  divided  be 
tween  the  makers  of  shoes  for  the  soldiers  and  saddles 
and  harness  for  the  horses.  Shoes  for  the  soldiers  were 
the  prime  necessity.  To  save  leather  the  waist  and 
cartridge-box  belts  were  made  of  heavy  cotton  cloth 
stitched  in  three  or  four  thicknesses.  Bridle  reins  were 
made  of  cotton  in  the  same  way.  Cartridge  boxes  were 
finally  made  thus  —  with  a  single  piece  of  leather  for 
the  flap.  Even  saddle  skirts  for  the  cavalry  were  made 
of  heavy  cotton  strongly  stitched. 

Men  to  work  the  meager  tanneries  were  exempt  from 

364, 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 


military    services    and    transportation    for    hides    and 
leather  supplies  was  free. 

A  fishery  was  established  on  the  Cape  Fear  River  in 
North  Carolina  from  which  oil  was  manufactured. 
Every  wayside  blacksmith  shop  was  utilized  as  a  gov 
ernment  factory  for  the  production  of  horseshoes  for 
the  cavalry. 

To  meet  the  demands  for  articles  of  prime  necessity 
which  could  not  be  made  in  the  South,  a  line  of  blockade 
runners  was  established  between  the  port  of  Wilming 
ton,  North  Carolina,  and  Bermuda.  Vessels  capable  of 
storing  in  their  hold  six  hundred  bales  of  cotton  were 
purchased  in  England  and  put  into  this  service.  They 
were  long,  low,  narrow  craft  built  for  speed.  They  could 
show  their  heels  to  any  ship  of  the  United  States  Navy. 
Painted  a  pale  grayish-blue  color,  and  lying  low  on 
the  water  they  were  sighted  with  difficulty  in  the  day 
and  they  carried  no  lights  at  night.  The  moment  one 
was  trapped  and  sunk  by  the  blockading  fleet,  another 
was  ready  to  take  her  place. 

Depots  and  stores  were  established  and  drawn  on  by 
these  fleet  ships  both  at  Nassau  and  Havana. 

By  the  fall  of  1862,  through  the  port  of  Wilming 
ton,  from  the  arsenals  at  Richmond  and  Fayetteville, 
and  from  the  victorious  fields  of  Manassas  and  the 
Seven  Days'  Battle  around  Richmond,  sufficient  arms  had 
been  obtained  to  equip  two  hundred  thousand  soldiers 
and  supply  their  batteries  with  serviceable  artillery. 

On  April  16,  1862,  Davis  asked  of  his  Congress  that 
every  white  man  in  the  South  between  the  ages  of  18 
and  35  be  called  to  the  colors  and  all  short  term  vol 
unteer  contracts  annulled.  The  law  was  promptly 
passed  in  spite  of  the  conspirators  who  fought  him  at 
every  turn.  Camps  of  instruction  were  established  in 
every  State,  and  a  commandant  sent  from  Richmond 
to  take  charge  of  the  new  levies. 

365 


THE  VICTIM 


Solidity  was  thus  given  to  the  military  system  of  the 
Confederacy  and  its  organization  centralized  and  freed 
from  the  bickerings  of  State  politicians. 

With  her  loins  thus  girded  for  the  conflict  the  South 
entered  the  second  phase  of  the  war  —  the  path  of 
glory  from  the  shattered  army  of  McClellan  on  the 
James  to  Hooker's  crushed  and  bleeding  lines  at  Chan- 
cellorsville. 

The  fiercest  clamor  for  the  removal  of  McClellan  from 
his  command  swept  the  North.  The  position  of  the 
Northern  General  was  one  of  peculiar  weakness  polit 
ically.  He  was  an  avowed  Democrat.  His  head  had 
been  turned  by  flattery  and  he  had  at  one  time  dallied 
with  the  idea  of  deposing  Abraham  Lincoln  by  the  as 
sumption  of  a  military  dictatorship.  Lincoln  knew 
this.  The  demand  for  his  removal  would  have  swayed 
a  President  of  less  balance. 

Lincoln  refused  to  deprive  McClellan  of  his  command 
but  yielded  sufficiently  to  the  clamor  of  the  radicals  of 
his  own  party  to  appoint  John  Pope  of  the  Western 
army  to  the  command  of  a  new  division  of  troops  de 
signed  to  advance  on  Richmond. 

The  generals  under  McClellan  who  did  not  agree  with 
his  slow  methods  were  detached  with  their  men  and  as 
signed  to  service  under  Pope. 

McClellan  did  not  hesitate  to  denounce  Pope  as  an 
upstart  and  a  braggart  who  had  won  his  position  by 
the  lowest  tricks  of  the  demagogue.  He  declared  that 
the  new  commander  was  a  military  impostor,  a  tool  of 
the  radical  wing  of  the  Republican  party,  a  man  who 
mistook  brutality  in  warfare  for  power  and  sought  to 
increase  the  horrors  of  war  by  arming  slaves,  legaliz 
ing  plunder  and  making  the  people  of  the  South  irrec 
oncilable  to  a  restored  Union  by  atrocities  whose  mem 
ory  could  never  be  effaced. 

Pope's  first  acts  on  assuming  command  did  much 
366 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 


to  justify  McClellan's  savage  criticism.  He  issued  a 
bombastic  address  to  his  army  which  brought  tears  to 
Lincoln's  eyes  and  roars  of  laughter  from  Little  Mac's 
loyal  friends. 

He  issued  a  series  of  silly  general  orders  making 
war  on  the  noncombatant  population  of  Virginia  within 
his  line.  If  citizens  refused  to  take  an  oath  of  alle 
giance  which  he  prescribed  they  were  to  be  driven  from 
their  homes  and  if  they  dared  to  return,  were  to  be  ar 
rested  and  treated  as  spies. 

His  soldiers  were  given  license  to  plunder.  Houses 
were  robbed  and  cattle  shot  in  the  fields.  Against  these 
practices  McClellan  had  set  his  face  with  grim  reso 
lution.  He  fought  only  organized  armies.  He  pro 
tected  the  aged,  and  all  noncombatants.  It  was  not 
surprising,  therefore,  when  Lincoln  ordered  him  to 
march  his  army  to  the  support  of  Pope,  McClellan  was 
in  no  hurry  to  get  there. 

Pope  had  boldly  advanced  across  the  Rappahannock 
and  a  portion  of  his  army  had  reached  Culpeper  Court 
House.  He  had  determined  to  make  good  the  proc 
lamation  with  which  he  had  assumed  command. 

In  this  remarkable  document  he  said: 

"  By  special  assignment  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  I  have  assumed  command  of  this  army. 
I  have  come  to  you  from  the  West  where  we  have  al 
ways  seen  the  backs  of  our  enemies  —  from  an  army 
whose  business  it  has  been  to  seek  the  adversary  and 
to  beat  him  when  found,  whose  policy  has  been  attack 
not  defense.  Let  us  study  the  probable  lines  of  re 
treat  of  our  opponents  and  leave  ours  to  take  care 
of  themselves.  Let  us  look  before  us  and  not  be- 
hind." 

While  his  eyes  were  steadily  fixed  before  him  Jack 
son,  moving  with  the  stealthy  tread  of  a  tiger,  slipped 
in  behind  his  advance  guard,  sprang  on  it  and  tore  his. 

367 


THE  VICTIM 


lines  to  pieces  before  he  could  move  reinforcements  to 
their  rescue. 

When  his  reinforcements  reached  the  ground  Jack 
son  had  just  finished  burying  the  dead,  picking  up  the 
valuable  arms  left  on  the  field  and  sending  his  prison 
ers  to  the  rear. 

Before  Pope  could  lead  his  fresh  men  to  an  attack 
the  vanguard  of  Lee's  army  was  in  sight  and  the  gen 
eral  who  had  just  issued  his  flaming  proclamation  took 
to  his  heels  and  fled  across  the  Rappahannock  where 
he  called  frantically  for  the  divisions  of  McClellan's 
army  which  had  not  yet  joined  him. 

While  Lee  threatened  Pope's  front  by  repeated 
feints  at  different  points  along  the  river,  he  dispatched 
Jackson's  corps  of  twenty-five  thousand  "  foot  cav 
alry  "  on  a  wide  flanking  movement  through  the  Blue 
Ridge  to  turn  the  Federal  right,  destroy  his  stores  at 
Manassas  Junction  and  attack  him  in  the  rear  before 
his  reinforcements  could  arrive. 

With  swiftness  Jackson  executed  the  brilliant  move 
ment.  Within  twenty-four  hours  his  men  had  made 
the  wide  swing  through  the  low  mountain  ranges  and 
crouched  between  Pope's  army  and  the  Federal  Cap 
ital.  To  a  man  of  less  courage  and  coolness  this  posi 
tion  would  have  been  one  of  tragic  danger.  Should 
Pope  suddenly  turn  from  Lee's  pretended  attacks  and 
spring  on  Jackson  he  might  be  crushed  between  two 
columns.  Franklin  and  Sumner's  corps  were  at  Alex 
andria  to  reenforce  his  lines. 

Jackson  had  marched  into  the  jaws  of  death  and 
yet  he  not  only  showed  no  fear,  he  made  a  complete  cir 
cuit  of  Pope's  army,  struck  his  storehouses  at  Manassas 
Junction  and  captured  them  before  the  Federal  Com 
mander  dreamed  that  an  army  was  in  his  rear.  Eight 
pieces  of  artillery  and  three  hundred  prisoners  were 
among  the  spoils.  Fifty  thousand  pounds  of  bacon,  a 

368 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 


thousand  barrels  of  beef,  two  thousand  barrels  of  pork, 
two  thousand  barrels  of  flour,  and  vast  quantities  of 
quartermaster's  stores  also  fell  into  his  hands. 

Jackson  took  what  he  could  transport  and  burned 
the  rest. 

Pope  rushed  now  in  frantic  haste  to  destroy  Jackson 
before  Lee's  army  could  reach  him. 

Jackson  was  too  quick  for  the  eloquent  commander. 
He  slipped  past  his  opponent  and  took  a  strong  posi 
tion  west  of  the  turnpike  from  Warrenton  where  he 
could  easily  unite  with  Longstreet's  advancing  corps. 

Pope  attempted  to  turn  Jackson's  left  with  a  divi 
sion  of  his  army  and  the  wily  Southerner  fell  on  his 
moving  columns  with  sudden  savage  energy,  fought  un 
til  nine  o'clock  at  night  and  drove  him  back  with  heavy 
loss. 

When  Pope  moved  to  the  attack  next  day  at  two 
o'clock  Longstreet  had  reached  Jackson's  side.  The 
attack  failed  and  his  men  fell  back  through  pools  of 
blood.  The  Federal  Commander  was  still  sending  pom 
pous  messages  to  Washington  announcing  his  marvel 
ous  achievements  while  his  army  had  steadily  retreated 
from  Culpeper  Court  House  beyond  the  Rappahan- 
nock,  back  to  Manassas  where  the  first  battle  of  the 
war  was  fought. 

At  dawn  on  August  30,  the  high  spirited  troops  of 
the  South  were  under  arms  standing  with  clinched  mus 
kets  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  pickets  of  Pope. 
Their  far  flung  battle  line  stretched  for  five  miles  from 
Sudley  Springs  on  the  left  to  the  Warrenton  road  and 
on  obliquely  to  the  southwest. 

The  artillery  opened  the  action  and  for  eight  hours 
the  heavens  shook  with  its  roar.  At  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  Pope  determined  to  hurl  the  flower  of 
his  army  against  Jackson's  corps  and  smash  it.  His 
first  division  pressed  forward  and  engaged  the  Confed- 
25  369 


THE  VICTIM 


crates  at  close  quarters.  A  fierce  and  bloody  conflict 
followed,  Jackson's  troops  refusing  to  yield  an  inch. 
The  Federal  Commander  brought  up  two  reserve  lines 
to  support  the  first  but  before  they  could  be  of  any 
use,  Longstreet's  artillery  was  planted  to  rake  them 
with  a  murderous  fire  and  they  fell  back  in  confusion. 

As  the  reserves  retreated  Jackson  ordered  his  men 
to  charge  and  at  the  same  moment  Longstreet  hurled 
his  division  against  the  Federal  center,  and  the  whole 
Confederate  army  with  piercing  yell  leaped  forward 
and  swept  the  field  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

No  sublimer  pageant  of  blood  and  flame  and  smoke 
and  shrouded  Death  ever  moved  across  the  earth  than 
that  which  Lee  now  witnessed  from  the  hilltop  on  which 
he  stood.  For  five  miles  across  the  Manassas  plains 
the  gray  waves  rolled,  their  polished  bayonets  gleam 
ing  in  the  blazing  sun.  They  swept  through  the  open 
fields,  now  lost  a  moment  in  the  woods,  now  flashing 
again  in  the  open.  They  paused  and  the  artillery  dashed 
to  the  front,  spread  their  guns  in  line  and  roared  their 
call  of  death  to  the  struggling,  fleeing,  demoralized 
army.  Another  shout  and  the  charging  hosts  swept 
on  again  to  a  new  point  of  vantage  from  which  to  fire. 
Through  clouds  of  smoke  and  dust  the  red  tongues  of 
flame  from  a  hundred  big-mouthed  guns  flashed  and 
faded  and  flashed  again. 

The  charging  men  slipped  on  the  wet  grass  where 
the  dead  lay  thickest.  Waves  of  white  curling  smoke 
rose  above  the  tree-tops  and  hung  in  dense  clouds  over 
the  field  lighted  by  the  red  glare  of  the  sinking  sun. 

The  relief  corps  could  be  seen  dashing  on,  with 
stretchers  and  ambulances  following  in  the  wake  of  the 
victorious  army. 

The  hum  and  roar  of  the  vast  field  of  carnage  came 
now  on  the  ears  of  the  listener  —  the  groans  of  the 
wounded  and  the  despairing  cry  of  the  dying.  And 

370 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 


still  the  living  waves  of  gray-tipped  steel  rolled  on  in 
relentless  sweep. 

Again  the  fleeing  Federal  soldiers  choked  the  waters 
of  Bull  Run.  Masses  of  struggling  fugitives  were 
pushed  from  the  banks  into  the  water  and  pressed  down. 
Here  and  there  a  wounded  man  clung  to  the  branch  of 
an  overhanging  tree  until  exhausted  and  sank  to  rise 
no  more. 

The  meadows  were  trampled  and  red.  Hundreds  of 
weak  and  tired  men  were  ridden  down  by  cavalry  and 
crushed  by  artillery.  On  and  on  rushed  the  remorse 
less  machine  of  the  Confederacy,  crushing,  killing,  scar 
ring,  piling  the  dead  in  heaps. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  that  night  before  the  army  of  Lee 
halted  and  Pope's  exhausted  lines  fell  into  the  trenches 
around  Centreville  for  a  few  hours'  respite.  At  dawn 
Jackson  was  struggling  with  his  tired  victorious  divi 
sion  to  again  turn  Pope's  flank,  get  into  his  rear  and 
cut  off  his  retreat. 

A  cold  and  drenching  rainstorm  delayed  his  march 
and  the  rabble  that  was  once  Pope's  army  succeeded 
in  getting  into  the  defenses  of  Washington. 

Davis'  army  took  seven  thousand  prisoners  and 
picked  up  more  than  two  thousand  wounded  soldiers 
whom  their  boastful  commander  had  left  on  the  field  to 
die.  Thirty  pieces  of  artillery  and  twenty  thousand 
small  arms  fell  into  Lee's  hands. 

Pope's  losses  since  Jackson  first  struck  his  advance 
guard  at  Culpeper  Court  House  had  been  more  than 
twenty  thousand  men  and  his  army  had  been  driven 
into  Washington  so  utterly  demoralized  it  was  unfit 
for  further  service  until  reorganized  under  an  abler 
man. 

For  the  moment  the  North  was  stunned  by  the  blow. 
Deceived  by  Pope's  loud  dispatches  claiming  victory 
for  the  first  two  days  it  was  impossible  to  realize  that 

371 


THE  VICTIM 


his  shattered  and  broken  army  was  cowering  and  bleed 
ing  under  the  shadow  of  the  Federal  Capitol. 

Even  on  the  night  of  August  thirtieth,  with  his  men 
lying  exhausted  at  Centreville  where  they  had  dropped 
at  ten  o'clock  when  Lee's  army  had  mercifully  halted, 
poor  Pope  continued  to  send  his  marvelous  messages 
to  the  War  Department. 

He  reported  to  Halleck: 

"  The  enemy  is  badly  whipped,  and  we  shall  do  well 
enough.  Do  not  be  uneasy.  We  will  hold  our  own 
here.  We  have  delayed  the  enemy  as  long  as  possible 
without  losing  the  army.  We  have  damaged  him  heav 
ily,  and  I  think  the  army  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of 
the  country." 

To  this  childish  twaddle  Halleck  replied: 

"  My  dear  General,  you  have  done  nobly !  " 

Abraham  Lincoln,  however,  realized  the  truth 
quickly.  He  removed  Pope  and  in  spite  of  the  threat 
of  his  Cabinet  to  resign  called  McClellan  to  reorganize 
the  dispirited  army. 

The  North  was  in  no  mood  to  listen  to  the  bombas 
tic  defense  of  General  Pope.  They  were  stunned  by 
the  sudden  sweep  of  the  Confederate  army  from  the 
gates  of  Richmond  on  June  first,  to  the  defenses  at 
Washington  within  sixty  days  with  the  loss  of  twenty 
thousand  men  under  McClellan  and  twenty  thousand 
more  under  Pope. 

The  armies  of  the  Union  had  now  been  driven  back 
to  the  point  from  which  they  had  started  on  July  16, 
1861.  It  had  been  necessary  to  withdraw  Burnside's 
army  from  eastern  North  Carolina  and  the  forces  of 
the  Union  from  westeni  Virginia.  The  war  had  been 
transferred  to  the  suburbs  of  Washington  and  the 
Northern  people  who  had  confidently  expected  McClel 
lan  to  be  in  Richmond  in  June  were  now  trembling  for 
the  safety  of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  to  say  noth- 

372 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 


ing  of  the  possibility  of  Confederate  occupation  of  the 
Capital. 

An  aggressive  movement  of  all  the  forces  of  the  South 
under  Lee  in  the  East  and  Bragg  and  Johnston  in  the 
West  was  ordered. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Lee's  army  could  not  be 
properly  shod  —  the  supply  of  army  shoes  being  in 
adequate  and  the  lack  of  shoe  factories  a  defect  the 
Confederacy  had  yet  been  unable  to  remedy,  the  South 
ern  Commander  threw  his  army  of  barefooted  veterans 
across  the  Potomac  and  boldly  invaded  Maryland  on 
September  the  fifth. 

The  appearance  of  Stonewall  Jackson  on  his  en 
trance  into  Frederick  City,  Maryland,  was  described  by 
a  Northern  war  correspondent  in  graphic  terms: 

"  Old  Stonewall  was  the  observed  of  all  observers. 
He  was  dressed  in  the  coarsest  kind  of  homespun,  seedy, 
and  dirty  at  that.  He  wore  an  old  hat  which  any 
Northern  beggar  would  consider  an  insult  to  have  of 
fered  him.  In  his  general  appearance  he  was  in  no 
respect  to  be  distinguished  from  the  mongrel  barefoot 
crew  who  followed  his  fortunes.  I  had  heard  much  of 
the  decayed  appearance  of  rebel  soldiers, —  but  such  a 
looking  crowd!  Ireland  in  her  worst  straits  could 
present  no  parallel,  and  yet  they  glory  in  their  shame !  " 

Lee's  army  was  now  fifty  miles  north  of  Washington, 
within  striking  distance  of  Baltimore.  His  strategy 
had  completely  puzzled  the  War  Department  of  the 
Federal  Government.  McClellan  was  equally  puzzled. 
Lincoln  and  his  Cabinet  believed  Lee's  movement  into 
Maryland  a  feint  to  draw  the  army  from  the  defense 
of  the  Capital,  and,  when  this  was  accomplished,  by  a 
sudden  swoop  the  Southern  Commander  would  turn  and 
capture  the  city. 

While  McClellan  was  thus  halting  in  tragic  indeci 
sion  one  of  the  unforeseen  accidents  of  war  occurred 

373 


THE  VICTIM 


which  put  him  in  possession  of  Lee's  plan  of  campaign 
and  should  have  led  to  the  annihilation  of  the  South 
ern  army.  A  copy  of  the  order  directing  the  move 
ment  of  the  Confederates  from  Frederick,  Maryland, 
was  thrown  to  the  ground  by  a  petulant  officer  to  whom 
it  was  directed.  It  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  Federal  sol 
dier  who  hurried  to  McClellan's  headquarters  with  the 
fateful  document. 

Jackson's  corps  had  been  sent  on  one  of  his  famous 
"  foot  cavalry  "  expeditions  to  sweep  the  Federal  gar 
rison  from  Martinsburg,  surround  and  capture  Har 
per's  Ferry.  McClellan  at  once  moved  a  division  of 
his  army  to  crush  the  small  command  Lee  had  stationed 
at  South  Mountain  to  guard  Jackson's  movement. 

McClellan  threw  his  men  against  this  little  division 
of  the  Confederates  and  attempted  to  force  his  way  to 
the  relief  of  Harper's  Ferry.  The  battle  raged  with 
fury  until  nine  o'clock  at  night.  Their  purpose  ac 
complished  Lee  withdrew  them  to  his  new  position  at 
Sharpsburg  to  await  the  advent  of  Jackson. 

The  "  foot  cavalry "  had  surrounded  Harper's 
Ferry,  assaulted  it  at  dawn  and  in  two  hours  the  gar 
rison  surrendered.  Thirteen  thousand  prisoners  with 
their  rifles  and  seventy-three  pieces  of  artillery  fell  into 
Jackson's  hands.  Leaving  General  A.  P.  Hill  to  re 
ceive  the  final  surrender  of  the  troops  Jackson  set  out 
at  once  for  Sharpsburg  to  join  his  army  with  Lee's. 

The  Southern  Commander  had  but  forty  thousand 
men  with  which  to  meet  McClellan's  ninety  thousand, 
but  at  sunrise  on  September  seventeenth,  his  batteries 
opened  fire  and  the  bloodiest  struggle  of  the  Civil  War 
began.  Through  the  long  hours  of  this  eventful  day 
the  lines  of  blue  and  gray  charged  and  counter-charged 
across  the  scarlet  field.  When  darkness  fell  neither 
side  had  yielded.  The  dead  lay  in  ghastly  heaps  and 
the  long  pitiful  wail  of  the  wounded  rose  to  Heaven. 

374- 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 


Lee  had  lost  two  thousand  killed  and  six  thousand 
wounded.  McClellan  had  lost  more  than  twelve  thou 
sand.  His  army  was  so  terribly  shattered  by  the  bloody 
work,  he  did  not  renew  the  struggle  on  the  following 
day.  Lee  waited  until  night  for  his  assault  and  learn 
ing  that  reinforcements  were  on  the  way  to  join  Mc- 
Clellan's  command  withdrew  across  the  Potomac. 

It  was  a  day  later  before  Lee's  movements  were  suf 
ficiently  clear  for  McClellan  to  claim  a  victory. 

On  September  nineteenth,  he  telegraphed  Washing 
ton: 

"  I  do  not  know  if  the  enemy  is  falling  back  or  re- 
crossing  the  river.  We  may  safely  claim  the  victory  as 
ours." 

Abraham  Lincoln  hastened  to  take  advantage  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  claim  to  issue  his  Emancipation  Proclamation. 
And  yet  so  utter  had  been  the  failure  of  his  general 
to  cope  with  Lee  and  Jackson,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  relieved  McClellan  of  his  command. 

While  Lee's  invasion  had  failed  of  the  larger  pur 
pose,  its  moral  effect  on  the  North  had  been  tremen 
dous.  He  carried  back  into  Virginia  fourteen  thou 
sand  prisoners,  eighty  pieces  of  artillery  and  invaluable 
equipment  for  his  army. 

In  the  meantime  the  Western  army  under  Bragg  had 
invaded  Kentucky,  sweeping  to  the  gates  of  Cincinnati 
and  Louisville  and  retiring  with  more  than  five  thousand 
prisoners,  five  thousand  small  arms  and  ten  pieces  of 
artillery. 

The  gain  in  territory  by  the  invasion  of  Maryland 
and  Kentucky  had  been  nothing  but  the  moral  effect 
of  these  movements  had  been  far  reaching.  The  dar 
ing  valor  of  the  small  Confederate  armies  fighting 
against  overwhelming  odds  had  stirred  the  imagination 
of  the  world.  In  the  west  they  had  carried  their  tri 
umphant  battle  flag  from  Chattanooga  to  Cincinnati, 

375 


THE  VICTIM 


and  although  forced  to  retire,  had  shown  the  world 
that  the  conquest  of  the  southwestern  territory  was  a 
gigantic  task  which  was  yet  to  be  seriously  under 
taken. 

The  London  Times,  commenting  on  these  campaigns, 
declared : 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  fate  of  the  new  nationality 
or  its  subsequent  claims  to  the  respect  of  mankind,  it 
will  assuredly  begin  its  career  with  a  reputation  for 
genius  and  valor  which  the  most  famous  nations  may 
envy." 

On  McClellan's  fall  he  was  succeeded  by  General 
Burnside  who  found  a  magnificently  trained  army  of 
veteran  soldiers  at  his  command.  It  was  now  divided 
into  three  grand  divisions  of  two  corps  each,  commanded 
by  three  generals  of  tried  and  proven  ability,  Sumner, 
Hooker  and  Franklin. 

Burnside  quickly  formed  and  began  the  execution  of 
an  advance  against  Richmond.  He  moved  his  army 
rapidly  down  the  left  bank  of  the  Rappahannock  River 
to  Fredericksburg,  and  ordered  pontoon  bridges  to 
cross  the  stream.  His  army  could  thus  defend  Wash 
ington  while  moving  in  force  on  the  Confederate  Cap 
ital. 

When  Burnside  led  his  one  hundred  and  thirteen  thou 
sand  men  across  the  river  and  occupied  the  town  of  Fred 
ericksburg,  Lee  and  Jackson  were  ready  to  receive  him. 
Lee  had  entrenched  on  the  line  of  crescent-shaped  hills 
behind  the  town. 

When  the  new  Northern  Commander  threw  his  army, 
with  its  bands  playing  and  its  thousand  flags  flying, 
against  these  hills  on  the  morning  of  December  13, 
1862,  he  plunged  headlong  and  blindfolded  into  a  death 
trap. 

Charge  after  charge  was  repulsed  with  unparalleled 
slaughter.  Lee's  guns  were  planted  to  cross  fire  on 

376 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 


each  charging  line  of  blue.  Burnside's  men  wjere 
mowed  down  in  thousands  until  their  sublime  valor  won 
the  praise  and  the  pity  of  their  foe. 

When  night  at  last  drew  the  veil  over  the  awful  scene 
the  shattered  masses  of  the  charging  army  were  hud 
dled  under  the  shelter  of  the  houses  in  Fredericksburg 
leaving  the  field  piled  high  with  the  dead  and  the 
wounded.  The  wounded  were  freezing  to  death  in  the 
pitiless  cold. 

Burnside  had  lost  thirteen  thousand  men  —  the  flower 
of  his  troops  —  the  bravest  men  the  North  had  ever 
sent  into  battle. 

Jackson's  keen  eye  was  quick  to  see  the  shambles  into 
which  this  demoralized  army  had  been  pushed.  The 
river  behind  them  could  be  crossed  only  on  a  narrow 
pontoon  bridge.  A  swift  and  merciless  night  attack 
would  either  drive  the  bleeding  lines  into  the  freezing 
river,  annihilate  or  capture  the  whole  army.  He  urged 
Lee  to  this  attack.  Lee  demurred.  He  could  not  know 
the  extent  of  the  enemy's  losses.  It  was  inconceivable 
to  the  Southern  Commander  that  Burnside  with  his  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  picked  soldiers,  could 
be  repulsed  with  such  slight  losses  to  the  South.  Only 
a  small  part  of  the  army  under  his  command  had  been 
active  in  the  battle  and  their  losses  were  insignificant 
in  comparison  with  the  records  of  former  struggles. 
Burnside  would  renew  the  attack  with  redoubled  vigor. 
He  refused  to  move  his  men  from  their  entrenchments 
into  the  open  field  where  they  would  be  exposed  to  the 
batteries  beyond  the  river. 

Jackson  turned  his  somber  blue  eyes  on  Lee: 

"  Send  my  corps  into  Fredericksburg  alone  to-night. 
Hold  the  hills  with  the  rest  of  the  army.  I'll  do  the 
work." 

"  You  cannot  distinguish  friend  from  foe,  General 
Jackson  — " 

377 


THE  VICTIM 


"  I'll  strip  my  men  to  the  waist  and  tie  white  bands 
around  their  right  arms." 

"  In  this  freezing  cold?  " 

"  They'll  obey  my  orders,  General  Lee  — " 

"It's  too  horrible—" 

"  It's  war,  sir,"  was  Jackson's  reply.  "  War  means 
fighting  —  fighting  to  kill,  to  destroy  —  fighting  with 
tooth  and  nail — " 

Lee  shook  his  head.  He  refused  to  take  the  risk. 
Jackson  returned  to  his  headquarters  with  heavy  heart. 
His  chief  of  medical  staff  was  busy  preparing  bandages 
for  his  men.  He  had  been  sure  of  Lee's  consent.  He 
countermanded  the  order  and  Burnside's  army  was 
saved  from  annihilation.  When  the  sun  rose  next  morn 
ing  half  his  men  were  safely  across  the  river  —  and 
the  remainder  quickly  followed. 

Again  the  North  was  stunned.  Another  wave  of  hor 
ror  swept  its  homes  as  the  lists  of  the  dead  and  wounded 
were  printed.  s 

Burnside  resigned  his  command  and  "  Fighting  "  Joe 
Hooker  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Northern  troops. 
Since  June  first,  Lee  and  Jackson  had  destroyed  four 
blue  armies  and  driven  their  commanders  from  the  field, 
—  McClellan  twice,  John  Pope  and  now  Burnside. 

The  political  effects  of  these  brilliant  achievements 
of  Davis'  army  had  been  paralyzing  on  the  administra 
tion  of  Lincoln.  The  Proclamation  of  Emancipation 
which  he  had  issued  immediately  after  the  bloody  battle 
in  Maryland  had  not  only  fallen  flat  in  the  North,  it 
had  created  a  reaction  against  his  policies  and  the  con 
duct  of  the  war.  The  November  elections  had  gone 
against  him  and  his  party  had  been  all  but  wiped 
out. 

The  Democrats  in  New  York  had  reversed  a  majority 
of  one  hundred  and  seven  thousand  against  them  in 
1860  and  swept  the  State,  electing  their  entire  ticket. 

378 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORT 


The  administration  was  defeated  in  New  Jersey,  Penn 
sylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois. 

The  voters  of  the  North  not  only  condemned  the 
administration  for  declaring  the  slaves  free,  but  they 
assaulted  the  war  policy  of  their  Government  with 
savage  fury.  They  condemned  the  wholesale  arrest  of 
thousands  of  citizens  for  their  political  opinions  and 
arraigned  the  Government  for  its  incompetence  in  con 
ducting  the  military  operations  of  an  army  of  more  than 
twice  the  numbers  of  the  triumphant  South. 

The  Emancipation  Proclamation  and  the  victories 
of  Davis'  army  had  not  only  divided  and  demoralized 
the  North,  they  had  solidified  Southern  opinion. 

Even  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  the  Vice-President  of 
the  Confederacy,  who  had  been  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of 
Davis  from  the  beginning  in  his  advocacy  of  foolish  and 
impossible  measures  of  compromise  now  took  his  posi 
tion  for  war  to  the  death.  In  a  fiery  speech  in  North 
Carolina  following  Lincoln's  proclamation  Stephens 
said: 

"  As  for  any  reconstruction  of  the  Union  —  such  a 
thing  is  impossible  —  such  an  idea  must  not  be  tolerated 
for  an  instant.  Reconstruction  would  not  end  the  war, 
but  would  produce  a  more  horrible  war  than  that  in 
which  we  are  now  engaged.  The  only  terms  on  which 
we  can  obtain  permanent  peace  is  final  and  complete 
separation  from  the  North.  Rather  than  submit  to 
anything  short  of  that,  let  us  resolve  to  die  as  men 
worthy  of  freedom." 

A  few  days  after  the  defeat  of  Burnside's  army  at 
Fredericksburg  the  South  was  thrilled  by  the  feat  of 
General  McGruder  in  Galveston  harbor.  The  daring 
Confederate  Commander  had  seized  two  little  steamers 
and  fitted  them  up  as  gun  boats  by  piling  cotton  on 
their  sides  for  bulwarks.  With  these  two  rafts  of 
cotton  cooperating  on  the  water,  his  infantry  waded  out 

379 


THE  VICTIM 


into  the  waters  of  Galveston  Bay  and  attacked  the  Fed 
eral  fleet  with  their  bare  hands. 

When  the  smoke  of  battle  lifted  the  city  of  Galves 
ton  was  in  Confederate  hands,  the  fleet  had  been  smashed 
and  scattered  and  the  port  opened  to  commerce.  Com 
modore  Renshaw  had  blown  up  his  flag  ship  to  pre 
vent  her  falling  into  McGruder's  hands  and  gone  down 
with  her.  The  garrison  surrendered. 

Jackson  had  invented  a  "  foot  cavalry."  McGruder 
had  supplemented  it  by  a  "  foot  navy." 

At  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  on  the  same  day  Gen 
eral  Bragg  had  engaged  the  army  of  Rosecrans  and 
fought  one  of  the  bloodiest  engagements  of  the  war. 
Its  net  results  were  in  favor  of  the  Confederacy  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  he  permitted  Rosecrans  to  move 
into  Murfreesboro.  The  Northern  army  had  lost  nine 
thousand  men,  killed  and  wounded,  and  Bragg  car 
ried  from  the  field  six  thousand  Federal  prisoners, 
thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  sixty  thousand  stand  of  small 
arms,  ambulances,  mules,  horses  and  an  enormous 
amount  of  valuable  stores. 

His  own  losses  had  been  great  but  far  less  than  those 
he  inflicted  on  Rosecrans.  He  had  lost  one  thousand 
two  hundred  and  ninety-two  killed,  seven  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  forty-five  wounded  and  one  thousand 
twenty-seven  missing. 

At  Charleston  a  fleet  of  iron-clads  on  the  model  of 
the  Monitor  had  been  crushed  by  the  batteries  and 
driven  back  to  sea  with  heavy  loss.  The  Keokuk  was 
left  a  stranded  wreck  in  the  harbor. 

A  second  attack  on  Vicksburg  had  failed  under  Sher 
man.  A  third  attack  by  Grant  had  been  repulsed. 
Farragut's  attack  on  Port  Hudson  had  failed  with  the 
loss  of  the  Richmond. 

The  Federal  Government  now  put  forth  its  grandest 
effort  to  crush  at  a  blow  the  apparently  invincible  army 

380 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 


of  Davis'  still  lying  in  its  trenches  on  the  heights  be 
hind  Fredericksburg. 

Hooker's  army  was  raised  to  an  effective  force  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  and  his  artillery  increased 
to  four  hundred  guns.  Lee  had  been  compelled  to  de 
tach  Longstreet's  corps,  comprising  nearly  a  third  of 
his  army  for  service  in  North  Carolina.  The  force  un 
der  his  command  was  barely  fifty  thousand. 

So  great  was  the  superiority  of  the  Northern  army 
Hooker  divided  his  forces  for  an  enveloping  movement, 
each  wing  of  his  being  still  greater  than  the  whole  force 
under  Lee. 

Sedgwick's  corps  crossed  the  river  below  Fredericks- 
burg  and  began  a  flanking  movement  from  the  south 
while  Hooker  threw  the  main  body  across  the  Rappahan- 
nock  at  three  fords  seven  miles  above. 

On  April  thirtieth,  he  issued  an  address  to  his  men. 
His  forces  were  all  safely  across  the  riv>er  without  firing 
a  shot.  He  had  Lee's  little  army  caught  in  a  trap  be 
tween  his  two  grand  divisions. 

In  his  proclamation  he  boldly  announced  : 

"  The  operations  of  the  last  three  days  have  deter 
mined  that  our  enemy  must  ingloriously  fly,  or  come 
out  from  behind  their  defenses  and  give  us  battle  on 
our  own  ground,  where  certain  destruction  awaits 
him." 

His  enemy  was  not  slow  in  coming  out  from  behind 
his  defenses.  With  quick  decision  Lee  divided  his  little 
army  by  planting  ten  thousand  men  under  Early  on 
Marye's  Heights  to  stop  Sedgwick's  division  and  moved 
swiftly  with  the  remainder  to  meet  Hooker  in  the  dense 
woods  of  the  Wilderness  near  Chancellorsville. 

With  consummate  daring  and  the  strategy  of  genius 
he  again  divided  his  army.  He  detached  Jackson's 
corps  and  sent  his  "  foot  cavalry  "  on  a  swift  wide  de 
tour  of  twenty-odd  miles  to  swing  around  Hooker's 

381 


THE  VICTIM 


right  and  strike  him  in  the  flank  while  he  pretended 
an  attack  in  force  on  his  front. 

It  was  nearly  sundown  when  Jackson's  tired  but  eager 
men  saw  from  the  hill  top  their  unsuspecting  foe  quietly 
cooking  their  evening  meal. 

When  the  battle  clouds  lifted  at  the  end  of  three  days 
of  carnage,  Hooker's  army  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  men  had  been  out  to  pieces  and  flung  back 
across  the  Rappahannock,  leaving  seventeen  thousand 
killed  and  wounded  on  the  field. 

In  the  face  of  his  crushing  defeat  Hooker  issued  an 
other  address  to  his  army. 

He  boldly  announced  from  hrs  safe  retreat  beyond  the 
banks  of  the  river: 

"  The  Major-General  commanding  tenders  to  the 
army  his  congratulations  on  its  achievements  of  the  last 
seven  days.  If  it  has  not  accomplished  all  that  was 
expected  the  reasons  are  well  known  to  the  army.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say,  that  they  were  of  a  character  not  to 
be  foreseen  or  prevented  by  human  sagacity  or  re 
sources. 

u  In  withdrawing  from  the  south  bank  of  the 
Rappahannock  before  delivering  a  general  battle  to  our 
adversaries,  the  army  has  given  renewed  evidence  of  its 
confidence  in  itself  and  its  fidelity  to  the  principles  it 
represents. 

"  Profoundly  loyal  and  conscious  of  its  strength,  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  will  give  or  decline  battle  when 
ever  its  interests  or  honor  may  command  it. 

"  By  the  celerity  and  secrecy  of  our  movements, 
our  advance  and  passage  of  the  river  was  undisputed, 
and  on  our  withdrawal  not  a  rebel  dared  to  follow  us. 
The  events  of  the  last  week  may  well  cause  the  heart  of 
every  officer  and  soldier  of  the  army  to  swell  with 
pride!" 

The  heart  of  the  North  quickly  swelled  with  such 
382 


THE  PATH  OF  GLORY 


pride  that  the  President  was  forced  to  remove  General 
Hooker  and  appoint  General  George  Meade  to  his  com 
mand. 

While  the  South  was  celebrating  the  wonderful 
achievement  of  their  now  invincible  army,  Lee's  greatest 
general  lay  dying  at  a  little  farm  house  a  few  miles  from 
the  scene  of  his  immortal  achievement.  Jackson  had 
been  accidentally  wounded  by  a  volley  from  his  own  men 
fired  by  his  orders. 

His  wound  was  not  supposed  to  be  fatal  and  arrange 
ments  were  made  for  his  removal  to  Richmond  when  he 
was  suddenly  stricken  with  pneumonia  and  rapidly  sank. 
He  lifted  his  eyes  to  his  physician  and  calmly  said: 

"  If  I  live,  it  will  be  for  the  best  —  and  if  I  die,  it 
will  be  for  the  best;  God  knows  and  directs  all  things 
for  the  best." 

His  last  moments  were  marked  with  expressions  of 
his  abiding  faith  in  the  wisdom  and  love  of  the  God 
he  had  faithfully  served. 

Yet  his  spirit  was  still  on  the  field  of  battle.  In  the 
delirium  which  preceded  death  his  voice  rang  in  sharp 
command : 

"  Tell  Major  Hawkes  to  send  forward  provisions  to 
the  men !  " 

His  head  sank  and  a  smile  lighted  his  rugged  face. 
In  low  tender  tones  he  gasped  his  lar>t  words  on  earth: 

"  Let  us  cross  over  the  river  and  rest  under  the  shade 
of  the  trees." 

So  passed  the  greatest  military  genius  our  race  has 
produced  —  the  man  who  never  met  defeat.  His  loss 
was  mourned  not  only  by  the  South  but  by  the  wrorld. 
His  death  extinguished  a  light  on  the  shores  of  Time. 

The  leading  London  paper  said  of  him: 

"  That  mixture  of  daring  and  judgment  which  is  the 
mark  of  heaven-born  generals  distinguished  him  beyond 
any  man  of  his  age.  The  blows  he  struck  at  the  enemy 

383 


THE  VICTIM 


were  as  terrible  and  decisive  as  those  of  Bonaparte  him 
self." 

Thousands  followed  him  in  sorrow  to  the  grave.  The 
South  was  bathed  in  tears. 

Lee  realized  that  he  had  lost  his  right  arm  and  yet, 
undaunted,  he  marshaled  his  legions  and  girded  his  loins 
for  an  invasion  of  Northern  soil. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
THE  ACCUSATION 

Captain  Welford  had  entered  the  Secret  Service  of 
the  Confederacy  believing  firmly  that  Socola  was  a  Fed 
eral  spy.  He  would  not  make  known  his  suspicions  un 
til  he  had  secured  evidence  on  which  to  demand  his 
arrest. 

This  evidence  he  found  most  difficult  to  secure.  For 
months  he  had  watched  the  handsome  foreigner  with  the 
patience  of  a  hound.  He  had  taken  particular  pains  to 
hold  Jennie's  friendship  in  order  to  be  thrown  with 
Socola  on  every  possible  occasion.  His  men  from  the 
Secret  Service  Department  had  followed  Socola's  every 
movement  day  and  night  with  no  results. 

He  pretended  the  most  philosophic  acceptance  of  the 
situation  and  bantered  the  lovers  with  expressions  of  his 
surprise  that  an  early  marriage  had  not  been  an 
nounced. 

Socola  received  the  Captain's  professions  of  friend 
ship  with  no  sign  of  suspicion.  He  read  Dick's  mind 
as  an  open  book.  He  saw  through  his  pretentions  and 
the  tragic  purpose  which  underlay  his  good-natured 
banter.  He  knew  instinctively  that  his  movements  were 
watched  and  moved  with  the  utmost  caution.  For  a 
time  he  found  it  impossible  to  visit  the  house  on  Church 
Hill.  Detectives  were  on  his  heels  the  moment  he 
turned  his  steps  to  that  hill. 

The  boarding  house  in  which  he  lived  was  watched 
day  and  night.  And  yet  so  carefully  had  he  executed 
his  work  the  men  who  were  hounding  him  were  com- 
26  385 


THE  VICTIM 


pletely  puzzled.  They  could  not  know,  of  course,  that 
Socola  had  chosen  as  his  secretary  a  man  in  the  De 
partment  of  State.  This  man  he  had  involved  in  his 
conspiracy  so  completely  and  hopelessly  from  the  first 
interview  that  there  was  no  retreat.  He  had  risked 
his  own  life  on  his  judgment  of  character  the  day  he 
made  his  first  proposition.  But  his  estimate  had  proven 
correct.  The  fellow  blustered  and  then  accepted  the 
bribe  and  entered  with  enthusiasm  into  his  service. 

Through  this  clerk  the  wily  director  of  the  Federal 
Bureau  of  Information  was  compelled  now  to  communi 
cate  with  Miss  Van  Lew.  Socola  had  secured  his  serv 
ices  in  the  nick  of  time.  He  had  been  an  old  friend  of 
the  Van  Lew  family  before  the  war,  their  people  were 
distantly  related  and  no  suspicion  could  attach  to  his 
visits  to  her  house  unless  made  at  an  unusual  hour. 

It  was  nearly  a  year  from  the  day  he  began  his 
watch  before  Captain  Welford  succeeded  in  connecting 
the  stenographer  in  the  Department  of  State  with  the 
woman  on  Church  Hill. 

He  had  been  quietly  studying  "  Crazy  Bet "  for 
months.  From  the  first  he  had  accused  this  woman  of 
being  a  spy.  The  older  men  in  the  Department 
laughed.  Miss  Van  Lew  was  the  standard  joke  of  the 
amateurs  who  entered  the  Service.  The  older  men  all 
knew  that  she  was  a  harmless  fool  whose  mind  had  been 
unbalanced  by  her  love  for  negroes  and  her  abolition 
ideas. 

With  characteristic  stubbornness  Dick  refused  to  ac 
cept  their  decision  and  set  about  in  his  own  way  to 
watch  her.  She  was  in  the  habit  now  of  making  more 
and  more  frequent  trips  to  Libby  Prison,  carrying  flow 
ers  and  delicacies  to  the  Northern  prisoners.  Dick  had 
observed  the  use  of  an  old  fashioned  French  platter  with 
an  extremely  thick  bottom.  He  called  the  attention  of 
the  guard  to  this  platter. 

386 


THE  ACCUSATION 


The  keen  ears  of  the  woman  had  heard  it  mentioned. 
The  double  bottom  at  that  moment  was  harmless.  The 
messages  she  had  carried  to  the  prisoners  had  all  been 
taken  from  their  hiding  place  and  the  platter  returned 
to  her  through  the  bars. 

She  hurried  home  before  the  guard  could  make  up  his 
mind  to  examine  the  contrivance.  The  next  day  Dick 
was  on  the  watch.  The  Captain  whispered  to  the  guard 
who  halted  "  Crazy  Bet "  at  the  door. 

"  I'll  have  to  examine  that  thing,"  he  said  sharply. 

"  Take  it  then ! "  she  said  with  a  foolish  laugh. 

She  slipped  the  old  shawl  from  around  it  and  sud 
denly  plumped  the  platter  squarely  into  the  guard's 
hands.  The  double  bottom  that  day  was  filled  with 
boiling  water. 

"  Hell  fire ! "  the  guard  yelled,  dropping  the  platter 
with  a  crash. 

He  blew  on  his  fingers  and  let  her  pick  it  up  and  pass 
on. 

The  woman  had  fooled  the  guard  completely,  but  she 
had  not  been  so  successful  with  Dick.  The  trick  was 
too  smoothly  done.  No  woman  with  an  unbalanced 
mind  would  have  been  capable  of  it. 

With  extraordinary  care  the  Captain  followed  her 
through  the  crowded  streets  and  saw  her  pass  Socola 
in  front  of  the  Custom  House.  No  sign  of  recognition 
was  made  by  either,  but  he  saw  the  stenographer  stoop 
and  pick  up  something  from  the  edge  of  the  side 
walk. 

He  would  have  thought  nothing  of  such  an  act  had 
he  not  been  following  this  woman  on  whom  his  suspicions 
had  been  fixed.  He  leaped  at  once  to  the  truth. 

Miss  Van  Lew  had  dropped  a  cypher  message  and 
Socola  had  taken  it. 

He  watched  her  again  the  next  day,  and,  suddenly 
turning  the  corner  of  an  obscure  street,  saw  Socola. 

387 


THE  VICTIM 


speak  to  her  in  low  quick  tones,  raising  his  voice  on  his 
appearance  to  an  idle  conventional  greeting. 

He  passed  them  without  apparently  noticing  any 
thing  unusual  and  hurried  to  his  office  with  his  suspicions 
now  a  burning  certainty.  He  had  only  to  wait  his 
opportunity  to  trap  his  quarry  in  the  possession  of  a 
dispatch  that  would  send  him  to  the  gallows. 

His  evidence  was  not  yet  sufficient  to  ask  for  his 
arrest.  It  was  sufficient  to  convince  Jennie  Barton 
ivhose  loyalty  to  the  South  was  so  intense  she  would 
not  walk  on  the  same  side  of  the  street  with  Miss  Van 
Lew. 

He  rushed  to  the  Barton  house. 

Jennie  saw  before  he  spoke  that  he  bore  a  message 
of  tragic  import. 

"What  is  it,  Dick?"  she  asked  under  her  breath. 
'"  Why  do  you  look  at  me  so  ?  " 

"  Jennie,"  he  began  seriously,  "  you  are  sure  that 
you  love  the  South?  " 

"  Don't  ask  me  idiotic  questions,"  she  answered 
sternly ;  "  what  are  you  driving  at  ?  " 

"  If  I  prove  to  you  that  the  man  to  whom  you  have 
pledged  your  love  is  an  impostor  — " 

She  lifted  her  head  in  a  gesture  of  cold  protest. 

"  I  thought  we  had  settled  that  question." 

"  But  you  must  listen  to  me,"  he  went  on  with  calm 
persistence.  "  If  I  prove  to  you  that  this  man  is  a 
Federal  spy  — " 

Jennie  broke  into  a  laugh. 

"  I  can't  get  mad  at  you  —  you're  such  a  big  clumsy 
goose  — " 

"  I  said  if  I  prove  it  — " 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  fact  that  he  was  in  dead 
earnest. 

The  girl's  face  went  white  and  her  eyes  took  on  a  hard 
glitter. 

388 


"  Jennie  thrust  her  trembling  little  figure  between 
the  two  men  and  confronted  Dick  " 


THE  ACCUSATION 


"  Now,  Dick  Welf ord,  that  you've  said  it  —  you've 
got  to  prove  it — " 

The  Captain  lifted  his  hand  solemnly. 

"  I'll  prove  it.  You  know  Miss  Van  Lew,  the  old 
abolitionist  on  Church  Hill?—" 

"  I  don't  know  that  such  a  creature  walks  the  earth." 

"You've  heard  of  her?" 

"  Yes." 

"  You  know  that  she  is  a  traitor  to  her  own  people  ?  " 

"  I've  heard  it." 

The  Captain  paused  and  looked  straight  at  her  with 
searching  gaze. 

"  I  just  ran  into  Socola  talking  to  this  woman — " 

"Is  that  all?" 

"  No." 

"What  else?" 

"  Yesterday  I  saw  them  pass  each  other  on  Main 
Street.  Socola  stooped  and  picked  up  something  from: 
the  pavement — " 

"  Something  she  dropped  ?  " 

"  I'm  sure  of  it  — " 

"  But  you  didn't  see  her  drop  it  ?  " 

«  No  — " 

"  How  can  you  be  so  absurd !  " 

"  You  don't  believe  what  I  tell  you?  " 

"  But  it  proves  nothing  — " 

"  To  me,  it's  as  plain  as  day  — " 

"  Because  you  hate  him.  I'm  ashamed  of  you, 
Dick." 

"  Mark  my  words,  I'll  prove  it  before  I'm  through." 

"  I'll  give  you  the  chance  now  —  that's  his  knock  on 
the  front  door  — " 

"  I'd  rather  not  make  my  accusation  to-day  — " 

"  You've  made  it  to  me." 

"  You're  a  loyal  Southern  girl.  I  had  the  right  to 
make  it  to  you." 

389 


THE  VICTIM 


The  girl  laughed. 

"  And  I'll  demand  of  him  an  explanation  — " 

Before  he  could  protest  Socola  walked  into  the  room 
and  grasped  Jennie's  hand. 

"  Captain  Welford,"  she  laughed,  "  has  just  accused 
you  of  hobnobbing  with  the  enemy  on  the  streets  — 
what  explanation  can  you  offer?  " 

"  Need  I  explain?  "  he  asked  lightly. 

"  Miss  Van  Lew  is  a  suspicious  character." 

"  That's  my  excuse,  I  fear.  She  is  a  character. 
I've  been  curious  to  know  if  she  is  really  sane.  I 
stopped  her  on  the  street  and  asked  her  a  question.  Is 
it  forbidden  in  Richmond  ?  " 

He  spoke  with  easy  convincing  carelessness. 

Jennie  smiled. 

"  Captain  Welford  evidently  thinks  so  — " 

"And  you?" 

"  I  am  quite  satisfied  with  your  explanation  — " 

Dick  took  a  step  closer  and  faced  his  enemy. 

"Well,  I'm  not  Signor  Socola  —  if  that's  your 
name  — " 

"  Dick !  "  Jennie  interrupted  angrily. 

The  Captain  ignored  the  interruption,  holding  the 
eye  of  the  man  he  hated. 

"  You  spoke  to  that  woman  in  low  quick  tones  — " 

"  Your  imagination  is  vivid,  Captain  — " 

Dick  squared  his  jaw  into  Socola's  face. 

"  It's  vivid  enough  to  see  through  you.  I'm  going  to 
wring  your  neck  before  we're  through  with  this  thing  — " 

Jennie  thrust  her  trembling  figure  between  the  two 
men  and  confronted  Dick. 

"  How  dare  you  insult  the  man  I  love  in  my  presence, 
Dick  Welford?" 

"  Because  I  love  the  South  better  than  my  life  and 
you  do,  too,  Jennie  Barton  — " 

The  girl's  eyes  flashed  with  rage. 
390 


THE  ACCUSATION 


"  Leave  this  room,  sir  !  " 

Dick  still  faced  Socola. 

"  Get  out  of  this  town  to-night  —  or  I'll  wring  your 
neck,  you  damned  spy !  " 

"  Leave  this  room,  Dick  Wei  ford !  "  Jennie  repeated. 

The  Captain  turned  and  left  without  even  a  glance 
over  his  broad  shoulders. 

"  I  couldn't  strike  him  in  your  presence,  dear," 
Socola  apologized. 

"  You  behaved  splendidly.  I'm  proud  of  }^our  per 
fect  poise  and  mastery  of  }-ourself.  Our  Southern  men 
splutter  easily." 

Socola  took  her  hand  and  pressed  it. 

"  You  don't  believe  this?  " 

"  I'd  sooner  doubt  my  own  heart  —  I'd  sooner  doubt 
God—" 

"  I'll  prove  to  you  that  I'm  worthy  of  your  love,"  he 
murmured  gently. 

He  knelt  that  night  and  tried  to  ask  God  to  show 
him  the  way.  His  heart  was  rising  in  fierce  rebellion 
at  the  deception  into  which  he  had  entrapped  himself. 
And  yet  never  had  his  country's  need  been  so  bitter  and 
the  service  he  was  rendering  so  priceless.  He  rose  at 
last  with  face  stern  and  pale.  He  would  fight  to  the 
end. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 
THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 

The  death  of  Jackson  was  to  Jefferson  Davis  an  ap 
palling  disaster.  He  had  never  seriously  believed  the 
Southern  people  could  win  their  unequal  struggle 
against  the  millions  of  the  North  backed  by  their  in 
exhaustible  resources  until  the  achievements  of  Lee  and 
Jackson  had  introduced  a  new  element  into  the  conflict. 
So  resistless  and  terrible  had  become  the  effective  war 
power  of  Southern  soldiers  led  by  these  two  men  whose 
minds  moved  in  such  harmony  with  each  other  and  with 
their  Chief  in  Richmond  that  the  South  at  last  was  in 
sight  of  success. 

The  impossible  had  been  accomplished.  Anything 
now  seemed  possible.  Jackson's  death  had  destroyed 
this  new  equation  of  war. 

Davis'  faith  in  Jackson  was  in  every  way  equal  to 
Lee's  and  Lee  but  once  refused  to  follow  Jackson's  lead 
in  his  veto  on  his  Lieutenant's  plan  to  annihilate  Burn- 
side's  army  at  Fredericksburg. 

When  the  report  reached  Richmond  that  Jackson  was 
dying  Davis  was  inconsolable. 

The  whole  evening  the  President  of  the  Confederacy 
shut  himself  in  his  room  —  unable  to  think  of  anything 
save  the  impending  calamity.  When  the  end  was  sure 
he  sent  with  his  own  hand  the  handsomest  flag  in  Rich 
mond  in  which  to  wrap  his  body. 

When  Davis  gazed  on  the  white,  cold,  rugged  fea 
tures,  the  tears  were  streaming  down  his  hollow  cheeks. 
He  bent  low  and  the  tears  fell  on  the  face  of  the 
dead. 

392 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 

When  an  officer  of  the  Government  came  to  the  Presi 
dent's  Mansion  where  the  body  lay  in  state  to  consult 
him  on  a  matter  of  importance,  the  Confederate  Chieftain 
stared  at  his  questioner  in  a  dazed  sort  of  way  and  re 
mained  silent. 

Lifting  his  haggard  face  at  last  he  said  in  pathetic 
tones : 

"  You  must  excuse  me,  my  friend,  I  am  staggering 
from  a  dreadful  blow  —  I  cannot  think  — " 

Three  days  and  nights  the  endless  procession  passed 
the  bier  and  paid  their  tribute  of  adoration  and  love. 
And  when  he  was  borne  to  his  last  resting  place  through 
the  streets  of  the  city,  the  sidewalks,  the  windows  and 
the  housetops  were  a  throbbing  mass  of  weeping  women 
and  men. 

Jefferson  Davis  was  perhaps  the  only  man  in  the 
South  in  a  position  to  realize  the  enormous  loss  which 
the  Confederacy  had  sustained  in  the  death  of  Lee's 
great  lieutenant. 

The  Southern  people  who  gloried  in  Jackson's  deeds 
had  as  yet  no  real  appreciation  of  the  services  he  had 
rendered.  They  could  not  realize  their  loss  until  events 
should  prove  that  no  man  could  be  found  to  take  his 
place. 

The  brilliant  victory  of  Chancellorsville,  following  so 
closely  on  Fredericksburg,  had  lifted  the  Confederacy 
to  the  heights. 

In  the  West  the  army  had  held  its  own.  The  safety 
of  Vicksburg  was  not  seriously  questioned.  General 
Bragg  confronted  Rosecrans  with  an  army  so  strong 
he  dared  not  attack  it  and  yet  not  strong  eirough  to 
drive  Rosecrans  from  Tennessee. 

Two  campaigns  were  discussed  with  Davis. 

The  members  of  his  Cabinet,  who  regarded  the  pos 
session  of  Vicksburg  and  the  continued  grip  on  the  Mis 
sissippi  River  vital  to  the  life  of  the  Confederacy,  were 

393 


THE  VICTIM 


.alarmed  at  Grant's  purpose  to  fight  his  way  to  this 
stronghold  and  take  it. 

They  urged  that  Lee's  army  be  divided  and  half  of 
it  sent  immediately  to  reenforce  Bragg.  With  this  force 
in  the  West  Rosecrans  could  be  crushed  and  Grant 
driven  from  his  design  of  opening  the  Mississippi. 

Lee,  flushed  with  his  victories,  naturally  objected  to 
the  weakening  of  his  army  by  such  a  division.  He  pro 
posed  a  more  daring  and  effective  way  of  relieving  Vicks- 
burg, 

He  would  raise  his  army  to  eighty-five  thousand  men, 
clear  Virginia  of  the  enemy  and  sweep  into  Pennsyl 
vania,  carry  the  war  into  the  North,  forage  on  its  rich 
fields,  capture  Harrisburg  and  march  on  Washington. 

Davis  did  not  wish  to  risk  this  invasion  of  Northern 
soil.  But  his  situation  was  peculiar.  His  relations 
with  Lee  had  been  remarkable  for  their  perfect  accord. 
They  had  never  differed  on  an  essential  point  of  polit 
ical  or  military  strategy.  Davis'  pride  in  Lee's  genius 
was  unbounded,  his  confidence  in  his  judgment  perfect. 

Lee  was  absolutely  sure  that  his  army  raised  to  eighty- 
five  thousand  effective  men  could  go  anywhere  on  the 
continent  and  do  anything  within  human  power.  He 
had  crushed  McClellan's  army  of  two  hundred  thousand 
with  seventy-five  thousand  men,  and  driven  him  from 
his  entrenchments  at  Richmond  down  the  Peninsula. 
With  sixty  thousand  he  had  crushed  Pope  and  hurled 
his  army  into  the  entrenchments  at  Washington,  a  bleed 
ing,  disorganized  mob.  With  sixty-two  thousand  he 
had  cut  to  pieces  Burnside's  hundred  and  thirteen  thou 
sand.  With  fifty  thousand  he  had  rolled  up  Hooker's 
host  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  in  a  scroll  of 
flame  and  death  and  flung  them  across  the  Rappahan- 
nock. 

His  fame  filled  the  world.  His  soldiers  worshiped 
him.  At  his  command  they  would  charge  the  gates  of 

394 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 

hell  with  their  bare  hands.  His  soldiers  were  seasoned 
veterans  in  whose  prowess  he  had  implicit  faith. 
His  faith  was  not  a  guess.  It  was  founded  on  achieve 
ments  so  brilliant  there  was  scarcely  room  for  a 
doubt. 

Lee  succeeded  in  convincing  Davis  that  he  could  in 
vade  the  North,  live  on  its  rich  fields  and  win  a  battle 
which  would  open  the  way,  not  only  to  save  Vicksburg 
from  capture,  but  secure  the  peace  and  independence 
of  the  South. 

A  single  great  victory  on  Northern  soil  with  his  anny 
threatening  Washington  would  make  peace  a  certainty. 
Davis  was  quick  to  see  the  logic  of  Lee's  plan.  It  was 
reasonable.  It  was  a  fair  risk.  And  yet  the  dangers 
were  so  enormous  he  consented  with  reluctance. 

Reagan,  the  Western  member  of  his  Cabinet,  urged 
with  all  the  eloquence  of  his  loyal  soul  the  importance 
of  holding  intact  the  communications  with  the  territory 
beyond  the  Mississippi.  He  begged  and  pleaded  for 
the  plan  to  reenforce  Bragg  and  play  the  safe  game 
with  Vicksburg.  Davis  listened  to  his  advice  with  the 
utmost  respect  and  weighed  each  point  with  solemn 
sense  of  his  responsibility. 

The  one  point  he  made  last  he  tried  to  drive  home 
in  a  sharp  personal  appeal. 

"  You  cannot  afford,  Mr.  President,"  he  urged  with 
vehemence,  "  to  further  expose  your  own  people  of  Mis 
sissippi  to  the  ravages  of  such  men  as  now  control  the 
invading  army.  They  have  laid  your  own  home  waste. 
The  people  of  Vicksburg  are  your  neighbors.  They 
know  you  personally.  The  people  of  this  territory  have 
sent  their  sons  and  brothers  into  Virginia  by  thousands. 
There  are  no  soldiers  left  to  defend  them  — " 

The  President  lifted  his  thin  hand  in  protest. 

"  I  can't  let  the  personal  argument  sway  me,  Reagan. 
Our  own  people  must  endure  what  is  best  for  the  cause. 

395 


THE  VICTIM 


All  I  wish  to  know  is  what  is  best  —  your  plan  or  Gen 
eral  Lee's." 

Lee  persuaded  him  against  his  personal  judgment 
to  consent  to  the  daring  scheme  of  Northern  inva 
sion. 

So  intent  was  Reagan  on  the  plan  of  direct  relief  to 
Vicksburg  that  after  Lee  had  begun  his  preparations 
for  the  advance,  Davis  called  a  Cabinet  meeting  and 
reconsidered  the  whole  question.  Reagan  pleaded  with 
tears  at  last  for  what  he  knew  his  Chief  felt  to  be  best. 
Davis  weighed  for  the  second  time  each  point  with  care 
and  again  decided  that  Lee's  plan  promised  the  greater 
end  —  peace. 

The  moment  his  final  decision  was  made  Davis  at  once 
commissioned  Vice  President  Alexander  H.  Stephens, 
who  knew  Lincoln  personally,  to  go  to  Washington  to 
make  the  proposition  for  an  armistice  and  begin  the 
negotiations  for  a  permanent  peace  on  the  day  Lee 
should  make  good  his  promise. 

The  letter  with  which  Stephens  started  to  Washing 
ton  asked  on  its  face  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  arrange  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners  which  would 
be  prompt  and  effective  and  prevent  all  suffering  by 
Northern  men  in  Southern  climates  and  Southern  men 
in  Northern  prisons.  Davis  had  asked  again  and  again 
that  all  prisoners  be  exchanged.  The  Federal  War  De 
partment  had  obstructed  this  exchange  until  thousands 
of  Northern  soldiers  crowded  the  prisons  of  the  South 
and  it  was  impossible  for  the  Confederate ,  authorities 
to  properly  care  for  them.  Medicine  had  been  made 
contraband  of  war  by  the  North  and  the  simplest  rem 
edies  could  not  be  had  for  the  Confederate  soldiers  or 
their  prisoners.  Behind  this  humane  purpose  of 
Stephens'  mission  lay  the  bigger  proposition,  which  was 
a  verbal  one,  to  propose  peace  on  Lee's  victory  on 
Northern  soil. 

396 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 

Lee's  army  lay  on  the  plains  of  Culpeper  during  the 
beautiful  month  of  May.  The  vast  field  was  astir  with 
the  feverish  breath  of  preparations  for  the  grand  march. 
Trains  rushed  to  the  front  loaded  with  munitions  of  war. 
New  batteries  of  artillery  with  the  finest  equipment  ever 
known  were  added  to  his  army.  The  ordnance  trains 
were  packed  to  their  capacity.  His  troops  were  bet 
ter  equipped  than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  war. 
Every  department  of  the  huge,  pitiless  machine  was 
running  like  clockwork. 

Fifteen  thousand  cavalry  were  reviewed  at  Brandy 
Station  led  by  Stuart's  waving  plume  —  Stuart,  the 
matchless  leader  who  had  twice  ridden  round  a  hostile 
army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men.  Crowds  of  cheering 
women  watched  this  wonderful  pageant  and  waved  their 
handkerchiefs  to  the  handsome  young  cavalier  as  he 
passed  on  his  magnificent  horse  draped  with  garlands 
of  flowers. 

It  required  an  entire  week  to  review  the  cavalry,  in 
fantry,  and  artillery. 

On  June  the  first,  the  advance  began. 

Ewell's  corps,  once  commanded  by  Jackson,  led  the 
way.  They  swung  rapidly  through  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains,  into  the  Valley  and  suddenly  pounced  on 
General  Milroy  at  Winchester.  Milroy  with  a  few  of 
his  officers  escaped  through  the  Confederate  lines  at 
night  and  succeeded  in  crossing  the  Potomac  at  Har 
per's  Ferry.  Ewell  captured  three  thousand  prisoners, 
thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  a  hundred  wagons  and  great 
stores.  Seven  hundred  more  men  were  taken  at  Mar- 
tinsburg. 

On  June  twenty-seventh,  the  whole  of  Lee's  army  was 
encamped  at  Chambersburg  in  Pennsylvania  in  strik 
ing  distance  of  the  Capital  of  the  State. 

The  execution  of  this  march  had  been  a  remarkable 
piece  of  strategy.  He  had  completely  baffled  the  North- 

S97 


THE  VICTIM 


ern  Commanders,  spread  terror  through  the  North  and 
precipitated  the  wildest  panic  in  Washington. 

Within  twenty-odd  days  the  Southern  General  had 
brought  his  forces  from  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  con 
fronted  by  an  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men, 
through  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
into  Pennsylvania.  He  had  done  this  in  the  face  of 
one  of  the  most  powerful  and  best  equipped  armies  the 
North  had  put  into  the  field.  He  had  swept  the  hos 
tile  garrisons  at  Winchester,  Martinsburg  and  Harper's 
Ferry  into  his  prisons  and  camped  in  Pennsylvania 
without  his  progress  being  once  arrested  or  a  serious 
battle  forced  upon  him.  He  had  cleared  Virginia  of 
the  army  which  threatened  Richmond  and  they  were 
rushing  breathlessly  after  him  in  a  desperate  effort  to 
save  the  Capital  of  Pennsylvania. 

So  far  Lee  had  made  good  every  prediction  on  which 
he  had  based  his  plan  of  campaign. 

Davis  felt  so  sure  that  he  would  make  good  his  prom 
ised  victory  that  he  hurriedly  dispatched  Stephens  to 
Fortress  Monroe  under  a  flag  of  truce  and  asked  for 
a  safe  conduct  for  his  Commissioner  to  Washington. 

In  alarm  the  Governors  of  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  New 
York,  Maryland,  and  West  Virginia  called  out  their 
militia.  Lee  was  not  deterred  by  their  panic.  He 
knew  that  those  raw  troops  would  cut  no  figure  in  the 
swift  and  terrible  drama  which  was  being  staged  among 
the  ragged  crags  around  Gettysburg.  The  veteran 
armies  of  the  North  and  South  would  decide  the  issue. 
If  he  won,  he  would  brush  aside  the  militia  as  so  many 
school  boys  and  march  into  Washington. 

Meade  was  rushing  his  army  after  his  antagonist 
with  feverish  haste.  His  advance  guard  struck  Lee  be 
fore  the  town  of  Gettysburg  on  July  first,  1863.  A 
desperate  struggle  ensued.  Neither  Meade  nor  Lee  had 
yet  reached  the  field. 

398 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 

Within  a  mile  of  the  town  the  Confederates  made  a 
sudden  and  united  charge  and  smashed  the  Federal  line 
into  atoms.  General  Reynolds,  their  Commander,  was 
killed  and  his  army  driven  headlong  into  the  streets 
of  Gettysburg.  Ewell,  charging  through  the  town, 
swept  all  before  him  and  took  five  thousand  prisoners. 

The  crowded  masses  of  fugitives,  fleeing  for  their 
lives,  passed  out  of  the  town  and  rushed  up  the  slopes 
of  the  hills  beyond. 

At  five  o'clock  Lee  halted  his  men  until  the  rest  of 
his  army  should  reach  the  field. 

During  the  night  General  Meade  rallied  his  disor 
ganized  men,  poured  his  fresh  troops  among  them  and 
entrenched  his  army  on  the  heights  where  his  defeated 
advance  guard  had  taken  refuge. 

Had  Lee  withdrawn  the  next  morning  when  he 
scanned  those  hills  which  looked  down  on  him  through 
bristling  brows  of  brass  and  iron  the  history  of  the  Con 
federacy  might  have  been  longer.  It  could  not  have 
been  more  illustrious. 

His  reasons  for  assault  were  sound.  To  his  council 
of  war  he  was  explicit. 

"  I  had  not  intended,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  to  fight 
a  general  battle  at  such  distance  from  our  base,  unless 
attacked  by  the  enemy.  We  find  ourselves  confronted 
by  the  Federal  army.  It  is  difficult  to  withdraw  through 
the  mountains  with  our  large  trains.  The  country  is 
unfavorable  for  collecting  supplies  while  in  the  presence 
of  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  as  he  can  restrain  our 
foraging  parties  by  occupying  the  mountain  passes. 
The  battle  is  in  a  measure  unavoidable.  We  have  won 
a  great  victory  to-day.  We  can  defeat  Meade's  army 
in  spite  of  these  hills." 

When  Lee  surveyed  the  heights  of  Gettysburg  again 
on  the  morning  of  the  second  of  July,  he  saw  that  the 
Northerners  held  a  position  of  extraordinary  power. 

399 


THE  VICTIM 


Yet  his  men  were  flushed  with  victory  after  victory. 
They  had  swept  their  foe  before  them  in  the  first  en 
counter  as  chaff  before  a  storm.  They  were  equal  to 
anything  short  of  a  miracle. 

He  ordered  Longstreet  to  hurl  his  corps  against  Cem 
etery  Ridge  and  drive  the  enemy  from  his  key  position 
before  the  entrenchments  could  be  completed. 

Longstreet  was  slow.  Jackson  would  have  struck 
with  the  rapidity  of  lightning.  On  this  swift  action  Lee 
had  counted.  The  blow  should  have  been  delivered  be 
fore  eight  o'clock.  It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon  before  Longstreet  made  the  attack  and  Meade's 
position  had  been  made  stronger  each  hour. 

From  two  o'clock  until  dark  the  long  lines  of  gray 
rolled  and  dashed  against  the  heights  and  broke  in  red 
pools  of  blood  on  their  rocky  slopes. 

Three  hundred  pieces  of  artillery  thundered  their  mes 
sage  in  an  Oratorio  of  Death.  The  earth  shook.  Hills 
and  rocks  danced  and  reeled  before  the  excited  vision 
of  the  onrushing  men.  For  two  hours  the  guns  roared 
and  thundered  without  pause.  The  shriek  of  shell,  the 
crash  of  falling  trees,  the  showers  of  flying  rocks  ripped 
from  cliffs  by  solid  shot,  the  shouts  of  charging  hosts, 
the  splash  of  bursting  shrapnel,  the  neighing  of  torn 
and  mangled  horses,  transformed  the  green  hills  o-f 
Pennsylvania  into  a  smoke-wreathed,  flaming  hell.  The 
living  lay  down  that  night  to  sleep  with  their  heads  pil 
lowed  on  the  dead. 

On  this  second  day  Lee's  men  had  gained  a  slight  ad 
vantage.  They  had  taken  Round  Top  and  held  it  for 
two  hours.  They  had  at  least  proven  that  it  could  be 
done.  They  had  driven  in  the  lines  on  the  Federal  left. 
The  Southern  Commander  still  believed  his  men  could 
do  the  impossible.  Longstreet  begged  his  Chief  that 
night  to  withdraw  and  choose  another  field.  Lee  or 
dered  the  third  day's  fight.  On  his  gray  horse  he 

400 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 

watched  Pickett  lead  his  immortal  charge  and  fall  back 
down  the  hill. 

He  rode  quietly  to  the  front,  rallying  the  broken  lines. 
He  made  no  speech.  He  uttered  no  bombast. 

He  calmly  lifted  his  hand  and  cried: 

"  Never  mind  -*-  boys !  " 

To  his  officers  he  said: 

"  It's  all  my  fault.  We'll  talk  it  over  afterward. 
Let  every  good  man  rally  now." 

His  army  had  never  known  a  panic.  The  men  quietly 
fell  into  line  and  cheered  their  Commander. 

To  an  English  officer  on  the  field  Lee  quietly  said: 

"  This  has  been  a  sad  day  for  us,  Colonel  —  a 
sad  day;  but  we  can't  expect  always  to  gain  victo 
ries." 

Lee  had  lost  twenty  thousand  men  and  fourteen  gen 
erals.  Meade  had  lost  twenty-three  thousand  men  and 
seventeen  generals.  Lee  withdrew  his  army  across  the 
swollen  Potomac,  carrying  away  his  guns  and  all  the 
prisoners  he  had  taken. 

General  Meade  had  saved  the  North,  but  Lee's  army 
was  still  intact,  on  its  old  invincible  lines  in  Virginia, 
sixty-five  thousand  strong. 

The  news  from  Gettysburg  crushed  the  soul  of  Davis. 
He  had  hoped  with  this  battle  to  end  the  war,  and  stop 
the  frightful  slaughter  of  our  noblest  men,  North  and 
South.  His  Commissioner,  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  was 
halted  at  Fortress  Monroe  and  sent  back  to  Richmond 
with  an  insulting  answer. 

So  bitter  was  Lee's  disappointment  that  he  offered 
his  resignation  to  Davis. 

The  President  at  once  wrote  a  generous  letter  in 
which  he  renewed  the  expressions  of  his  confidence  in 
the  genius  of  his  Commanding  General  and  begged  him 
to  guard  his  precious  life  from  undue  exposure. 

Gettysburg  was  but  one  of  the  appalling  calamities 
27  401 


THE  VICTIM 


which  crushed  the  hopes  of  the  Confederate  Chieftain 
on  this  memorable  fourth  of  July,  1863. 

On  the  recovery  of  Joseph  E.  Johnston  from  his 
wound  at  Seven  Pines  he  was  assigned  to  the  old  com 
mand  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  in  the  West.  His  de 
partment  included  the  States  of  Tennessee,  Mississippi, 
Alabama,  Georgia  and  North  Carolina. 

He  entered  on  the  duties  of  his  new  and  important 
field  —  complaining,  peevish,  sulking. 

On  the  day  before  his  departure  Mrs.  Davis  visited 
his  wife  and  expressed  to  General  Johnston  the  earnest 
wish  of  her  heart  for  her  husband's  success. 

"  I  sincerely  hope,  General,"  she  said  cordially,  "  that 
your  campaign  will  be  brilliant  and  successful." 

The  General  pursed  the  hard  lines  of  his  mouth. 

"  I  might  succeed  if  I  had  Lee's  chances  with  the  army 
of  Northern  Virginia." 

From  the  moment  Johnston  reached  his  field  he  be 
gan  to  quarrel  with  his  generals  and  complain  to  the 
Government  at  Richmond.  He  made  no  serious  effort 
to  unite  his  forces  for  the  defense  of  Vicksburg  and 
continuously  wrote  and  telegraphed  to  the  War  Depart 
ment  that  his  authority  was  inadequate  to  really  com 
mand  so  extended  a  territory.  He  made  no  effort  to 
throw  the  twenty- four  thousand  men  he  commanded  into 
a  juncture  with  Pemberton  who  was  struggling  valiantly 
against  Grant's  fifty  thousand  closing  in  on  the  doomed 
city. 

On  May  eighteenth,  Johnston  sent  a  courier  to  Pem 
berton  and  advised  him  to  evacuate  Vicksburg  without 
a  fight!  Pemberton  held  a  council  of  war  and  refused 
to  give  up  the  Mississippi  River  without  a  struggle. 
Johnston  sat  down  in  his  tent  and  left  him  to  his  fate. 

Grant  closed  in  on  Vicksburg  and  the  struggle  began. 
Pemberton  could  not  believe  that  Johnston  would  not 
march  to  his  relief. 

402 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 

Women  and  children  stood  by  their  homes  amid  the 
roar  of  guns  and  the  bursting  of  shells.  Caves  were 
dug  in  the  hills  and  they  took  refuge  under  the  ground. 

A  shell  burst  before  a  group  of  children  hurrying 
from  their  homes  to  the  hills.  The  dirt  thrown  up  from 
the  explosion  knocked  three  little  fellows  down,  but 
luckily  no  bones  were  broken.  They  jumped  up, 
brushed  their  clothes,  wiped  the  dirt  from  their  eyes, 
and  hurried  on  without  a  whimper. 

When  the  dark  days  of  starvation  came,  the  women 
nursed  the  sick  and  wounded,  lived  on  mule  and  horse 
meat  and  parched  corn. 

Johnston  continued  to  send  telegrams  to  the  War  De 
partment  saying  he  needed  more  troops  and  didn't  know 
where  to  get  them.  Yet  he  was  in  absolute  command 
of  all  the  troops  in  his  department  and  could  order  them 
to  march  at  a  moment's  notice  in  any  direction  he 
wished.  He  hesitated  and  continued  to  send  telegrams 
and  write  letters  for  more  explicit  instructions. 

He  got  them  finally  in  a  direct  peremptory  order 
from  the  War  Department. 

On  June  fifteenth,  he  telegraphed  his  Government : 

"  I  consider  saving  Vicksburg  hopeless." 

Davis  ordered  his  Secretary  of  War  to  reply  im 
mediately  in  unmistakable  language: 

"  Your  telegram  grieves  and  alarms  us.  Vicksburg  must 
not  be  lost  without  a  struggle.  The  interest  and  honor 
of  the  Confederacy  forbid  it.  I  rely  on  you  to  avert  this 
loss.  If  better  resource  does  not  offer  you  must  hazard 
attack.  It  may  be  made  in  concert  with  the  garrison,  if 
practicable,  but  otherwise  without.  By  day  or  night  as 
you  think  best/' 

The  Secretary  of  War,  brooding  in  anxiety  over  the 
possibility  of  Johnston's  timidity  in  the  crisis,  again 
telegraphed  him  six  days  later: 

403 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Only  my  convictions  of  almost  imperative  necessity 
for  action  induced  the  official  dispatch  I  have  sent  you. 
On  every  ground  I  have  great  deference  to  your  judgment 
and  military  genius,  but  I  feel  it  right  to  share,  if  need 
be  to  take  the  responsibility  and  leave  you  free  to  follow 
the  most  desperate  course  the  occasion  may  demand. 
Rely  upon  it,  the  eyes  and  hopes  of  the  whole  Confederacy 
are  upon  you,  with  the  full  confidence  that  you  will  act, 
and  with  the  sentiment  that  it  were  better  to  fail  nobly 
daring,  than  through  prudence  even  to  be  inactive.  I  rely 
on  you  for  all  possible  to  save  Vicksburg." 

On  June  twenty- seventh,  Grant  telegraphed  Wash 
ington  : 

"  Joe  Johnston  has  postponed  his  attack  until  he  can 
receive  ten  thousand  reinforcements  from  Bragg' s  army. 
They  are  expected  early  next  week.  I  feel  strong  enough 
against  this  increase  and  do  not  despair  of  having  Vicks 
burg  before  they  arrive." 

Pemberton's  army  held  Vicksburg  practically  with 
out  food  for  forty-seven  days.  His  brave  men  were  ex 
posed  to  blistering  suns  and  drenching  rains  and  con 
fined  to  their  trenches  through  every  hour  of  the  night. 
They  had  reached  the  limit  of  buman  endurance  and 
were  now  physically  too  weak  to  attempt  a  sortie. 
Johnston  still  sat  in  his  tent  writing  letters  and  tele 
grams  to  Richmond. 

Pemberton  surrendered  his  garrison  to  General  Grant 
on  July  fourth,  and  the  Mississippi  was  opened  to  the 
Federal  fleet  from  its  mouth  to  its  source. 

Grant  telegraphed  to  Washington : 

"  The  enemy  surrendered  this  morning.  General  Sher 
man  will  face  immediately  on  Johnston  and  drive  him  from 
the  State." 

But  the  great  letter  writer  did  not  wait  for  Sherman 
404 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE 

to  face  him.  He  immediately  abandoned  the  Capital 
of  Mississippi  and  retreated  into  the  interior. 

In  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  the  Confederacy  had  suffered 
a  most  appalling  calamity  —  not  only  had  the  Missis 
sippi  River  been  opened  to  the  Federal  gunboats,  but 
Grant  had  captured  twenty-four  thousand  prisoners  of 
war,  including  three  Major  Generals  and  nine  Briga 
diers,  ninety  pieces  of  artillery  and  forty  thousand  small 
arms. 

The  Johnston  clique  at  Richmond  made  this  disaster 
the  occasion  of  fierce  assaults  on  Jefferson  Davis  and 
fresh  complaints  of  the  treatment  of  their  favorite  Gen 
eral.  The  dogged  persistence  with  which  this  group  of 
soreheads  proclaimed  the  infallibility  of  the  genius  of 
the  weakest  and  most  ineffective  general  of  the  Con 
federacy  was  phenomenal.  The  more  miserable  John 
ston's  failures  the  louder  these  men  shouted  his  praises. 
The  yellow  journals  of  the  South  continued  to  praise 
this  sulking  old  man  until  half  the  people  of  the  Con 
federacy  were  hoodwinked  into  believing  in  his  great 
ness. 

The  results  of  this  Johnston  delusion  were  destined 
to  bear  fatal  fruit  in  the  hour  of  the  South's  supreme 
trial. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

SUSPICION 

Jennie  Barton  had  refused  to  listen  to  Captain  Wei- 
ford's  accusation  of  treachery  against  her  lover  but 
the  seed  of  suspicion  had  been  planted.  It  grew  with 
such  rapidity  her  peace  of  mind  was  utterly  destroyed. 

In  vain  she  put  the  ugly  thought  aside. 

"  It's  impossible ! "  she  murmured  a  hundred  times 
only  to  come  back  to  the  idea  that  would  not  down. 

Night  after  night  she  tossed  on  her  pillow  unable  to 
sleep.  The  longer  she  faced  the  problem  of  Socola's 
character  and  antecedents  the  more  probable  became  the 
truth  of  Dick's  suspicions.  She  had  made  his  present 
position  in  the  State  Department  possible. 

Again  her  love  rose  in  rebellion.  "  It's  a  He  —  a 
lie ! "  she  sobbed.  "  I  won't  believe  it.  Dick's  crazy 
jealousy's  at  the  bottom  of  it  all  — " 

Why  had  Socola  buried  himself  in  the  Department  of 
State  so  completely  since  the  scene  with  Dick?  His 
calls  had  been  brief.  Their  relations  had  been  strained 
in  spite  of  her  honest  effort  to  put  them  back  on  the  old 
footing. 

He  gave  as  his  excuse  for  not  calling  oftener  the  enor 
mous  pressure  of  work  which  the  crisis  of  the  invasion 
of  Pennsylvania  had  brought  to  his  office.  The  excuse 
was  valid.  But  perfect  love  would  find  a  way.  It 
should  need  no  excuse. 

There  was  something  wrong.  She  realized  it  now 
with  increasing  agony.  Unable  to  endure  the  strain 
she  sent  for  Socola. 

406 


SUSPICION 


Their  meeting  was  awkward.  She  made  no  effort  to 
apologize  or  smooth  things  over.  Her  attitude  was  in 
stinctive.  She  gave  her  feelings  full  rein. 

She  fixed  on  him  a  steady  searching  gaze. 

"  It's  useless  for  me  to  try  to  pretend,  my  love. 
There's  something  wrong  between  us." 

"  Your  mind  has  been  poisoned,"  was  the  quick,  seri 
ous  answer.  "  Thoughts  are  things.  They  have  the 
power  to  kill  or  give  life.  A  poisonous  idea  has  been 
planted  in  your  soul.  It's  killing  your  love  for  me.  I 
feel  it  —  and  I'm  helpless." 

"  You  can  cast  it  out,"  she  answered  tenderly. 

"How?" 

"  Tell  me  frankly  and  honestly  the  whole  story  of 
your  life  — " 

"You  believe  me  an  impostor?" 

"  I  love  you  — " 

"  And  that  is  not  enough  ?  " 

"  No.  Make  suspicion  impossible.  You  can  do  this 
—  if  you  are  innocent  as  I  believe  you  are  — " 

She  paused  and  a  sob  caught  her  voice. 

"  Oh,  my  love,  it's  killing  me  —  I  can  neither  eat  nor 
sleep.  Show  me  that  such  a  thing  is  impossible — " 

He  took  her  hand. 

"  How  foolish,  my  own,  to  ask  this  of  me  —  we  love 
right  or  wrong.  Love  is  the  fulfillment  of  the  law. 
You  call  me  here  to  cross-examine  me  — " 

"No  —  no  —  dear  heart  —  just  to  have  you  soothe 
my  fears  and  make  me  laugh  again  — " 

"  But  how  is  it  possible  —  once  this  thought  has 
found  its  way  into  your  mind?  If  I  am  a  spy,  as  your 
Captain  Welford  says,  it  is  my  business  to  deceive  the 
enemy.  I  couldn't  tell  the  truth  and  live  in  Richmond. 
I  would  swing  from  the  nearest  limb  if  I  should  be  dis 
covered  — " 

Jennie  covered  her  face  with  her  hands : 
407 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Don't  —  don't  —  please  — " 

"  Can't  you  see  how  useless  such  a  question  ?  " 

"  You  can't  convince  me?  "  she  asked  pathetically. 

"  I  won't  try,"  he  said  firmly.  "  You  must  trust  me 
because  you  love  me.  No'thing  I  could  say  could  con 
vince  you  — " 

He  paused  and  held  her  hands  in  a  desperate  clasp  — 

"  Trust  me,  dear  —  I  promise  in  good  time  to  con 
vince  you  that  I  am  all  your  heart  has  told  you  — " 

"  You  must  convince  me  now  —  or  I'll  die,"  she 
sobbed. 

"  You're  asking  the  impossible  — " 

He  stroked  her  hand  with  tender  touch,  rose  and  led 
her  to  the  door. 

"You'll  try  to  trust  me?" 

There  was  an  unreal  sound  in  her  voice  as  Jennie 
slowly  replied: 

«  yes  —  I'll  try." 

Socola  hurried  to  the  house  on  Church  Hill  and  dis 
patched  a  courier  on  a  mission  of  tragic  importance. 
Kilpatrick  and  Dahlgren  were  preparing  to  capture 
Richmond  by  a  daring  raid  of  three  thousand  cavalry 
men. 

Jennie  watcKed  him  go  with  the  determination  to  know 
the  truth  at  all  hazards. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

THE  FATAL  DEED 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  and  the  disaster  of  the  fall 
of  Vicksburg  once  more  gave  to  the  Johnston  junta  in 
the  Confederate  Congress  their  opportunity  to  harass 
the  President. 

Their  power  for  evil  had  been  greatly  diminished  by 
the  pressure  of  the  swiftly  moving  tragedy  of  the  war. 

The  appearance  of  this  Congress  was  curiously  plain 
and  uninteresting.  With  the  exception  of  J.  L.  M. 
Curry  of  Alabama  and  Barksdale  of  Mississippi  there 
was  not  a  man  among  them  of  constructive  ability  as 
a  statesman.  Foote  of  Tennessee  was  noted  for  his  high- 
flown  English,  his  endless  harangues  and  his  elaborate 
historical  illustrations.  Had  his  ability  been  equal  to 
the  intensity  of  his  hatred  for  Davis  he  would  have  been 
a  dangerous  man  to  the  administration.  James  Lyons 
of  Virginia  stood  six  feet  three  in  his  stockings,  had 
fine,  even,  white  teeth,  and  was  considered  the  handsom 
est  man  in  the  assembly. 

Yancey,  the  fierce,  uncompromising  agitator  of  seces 
sion,  was  too  violent  to  command  the  influence  to  which 
his  genius  entitled  him. 

Senator  Barton,  fierce,  impatient,  bombastic,  had 
long  ago  exhausted  the  vocabulary  of  invective  and 
could  only  repeat  himself  in  descending  anti-climax. 

Hill  of  Georgia  was  a  young  man  of  ability  who  gave 
promise  of  greater  things  under  more  favorable  condi 
tions. 

The  real  business  of  this  Congress  was  transacted  in 
409 


THE  VICTIM 


secret  executive  sessions.  When  the  public  was  admit 
ted,  the  people  of  Richmond  generally  looked  on  with 
contempt.  They  sneeringly  referred  to  them  as  "  the 
College  Debating  Society,  on  Capitol  Hill." 

The  surroundings  of  their  halls  added  to  the  impres 
sion  of  inefficiency  —  dingy,  dirty  and  utterly  lacking 
in  the  luxuries  which  the  mind  associates  with  the  exer 
cise  of  sovereign  power. 

The  Senate  was  forced  to  find  quarters  in  the  third 
story  of  the  "  State  House."  There  was  no  gallery  and 
the  spectators  were  separated  from  the  members  by  an 
improvised  railing.  The  only  difference  noticeable  be 
tween  the  Senators  and  the  spectators  was  that  the  mem 
bers  had  seats  and  the  listeners  and  loafers  had  stand 
ing  room  only  behind  the  rail. 

The  House  of  Representatives  had  a  better  chamber. 
But  its  walls  were  bare  of  ornament  or  paintings,  its 
chairs  were  uncushioned,  its  desks  dingy  and  slashed 
with  pocket  knives.  Its  members  sat  with  their  heels  in 
the  air  and  their  bodies  sprawled  in  every  conceivable 
attitude  of  ugly  indifference. 

The  heart  and  brains  of  the  South  were  on  the  field 
of  battle  —  her  noblest  sons  destined  to  sleep  in  un 
marked  graves. 

The  scenes  of  personal  violence  which  disgraced  the 
sittings  of  this  nondescript  body  of  law  makers  did 
much  to  relieve  the  President  of  the  burden  of  their  hos 
tility. 

Foote  of  Tennessee  provoked  an  encounter  with  Judge 
Dargan  of  Alabama  which  came  near  a  tragic  ending. 
The  Judge  was  an  old  man  of  eccentric  dress,  much 
given  to  talking  to  himself  —  particularly  as  he  wan 
dered  about  the  streets  of  Richmond.  The  gallery  of 
the  House  loved  him  from  the  first  for  his  funny  habit 
of  scratching  his  arm  when  the  itch  of  eloquence  at 
tacked  him.  And  he  always  addressed  the  Speaker  as 

410 


THE  FATAL  DEED 


"  Mr.  Cheerman."  They  loved  him  particularly  for 
that.  The  eccentric  Judge  had  a  peculiarly  fierce  an 
tipathy  to  Foote.  Words  of  defiance  had  passed  be 
tween  them  on  more  than  one  occasion.  The  House  was 
in  secret  night  session.  The  Judge  was  speaking. 

Foote  sitting  near,  glanced  up  at  his  enemy  and  mut 
tered  : 

"  Damned  old  scoundrel  — " 

The  Judge's  gray  head  suddenly  lifted,  he  snatched 
a  bowie  knife  from  his  pocket  and  dashed  for  the  man 
who  had  insulted  him. 

From  every  direction  rose  the  shouts  and  cries  of 
the  excited  House. 

"Stop  him!" 

"Hold  him!" 

"  Great  God !  " 

"Judge  — Judge!" 

The  wildest  uproar  followed.  Half  a  dozen  members 
threw  themselves  on  the  old  man,  dragged  him  to  the 
floor,  pinned  him  down  and  wrested  the  knife  from  his 
grasp. 

When  the  eloquent  gentleman  from  Tennessee  saw 
that  his  assailant  was  disarmed  and  safely  guarded  by 
six  stalwart  men  he  struck  an  attitude,  expanded  his 
chest,  smote  it  with  both  hands  and  exclaimed  with  melo 
dramatic  gusto: 

"  I  defy  the  steel  of  the  assassin !  " 

The  House  burst  into  shouts  of  uncontrollable  laugh 
ter,  and  adjourned  for  the  night. 

Another  scene  of  more  tragic  violence  occurred  in  the 
Senate  —  a  hand  to  hand  fight  between  William  L.  Yan- 
cey  and  Ben  Hill.  The  Senator  from  Georgia  threw 
his  antagonist  across  a  desk,  held  him  there  in  a  grip 
of  steel  and  pounded  his  face  until  dragged  away  by 
friends.  Yancey's  spine  was  wrenched  in  the  struggle, 
and  it  was  rumored  that  this  injury  caused  his  death. 

411 


THE  VICTIM 


It  possibly  hastened  the  end  already  sure  from  age, 
disease  and  careless  living. 

Committees  from  this  assembly  of  law  makers  who 
attempted  to  instruct  the  conscientious,  hard-working 
man  of  genius  the  Southern  people  had  made  their 
President  found  little  comfort  in  their  efforts. 

Davis  received  them  with  punctilious  ceremony.  His 
manners  were  always  those  of  a  gentleman  —  but  he 
never  allowed  them  to  return  to  their  onerous  work  in 
the  Debating  Society  without  a  clear  idea  of  his  views. 
They  were  never  expressed  with  violence.  But  the  ice 
sometimes  formed  on  the  window  panes  if  he  stood  near 
while  talking. 

A  Congressional  Committee  were  demanding  the  res 
toration  of  Beauregard  to  command. 

"  General  Beauregard  asked  me  to  relieve  him,  gen 
tlemen  — " 

"  Only  on  furlough  for  illness,"  interrupted  the  Chair 
man. 

"  And  you  have  forced  him  into  retirement ! "  added 
a  member. 

The  President  rose,  walked  to  the  window,  gazed  out 
on  the  crowded  street  for  a  moment  and  turned,  sud 
denly  confronting  his  tormentors.  He  spoke  with  quiet 
dignity,  weighing  each  word  with  cold  precision: 

"  If  the  whole  world  asked  me  to  restore  General 
Beauregard  to  the  command  which  I  have  given  to 
Braxton  Bragg,  I  would  refuse."  He  resumed  his  seat 
and  the  Committee  retired  to  Senator  Barton's  house 
where  they  found  a  sympathetic  ear. 

Bragg  was  preparing  to  fight  one  of  the  greatest  bat 
tles  of  the  war.  At  Chickamauga,  the  "  River  of 
Death,"  he  encountered  Rosecrans.  At  the  end  of  two 
days  of  carnage  the  Union  army  was  totally  routed, 
right,  left,  and  center  and  hurled  back  from  Georgia 
into  Chattanooga.  Polk's  wing  captured  twenty-eight 

412 


THE  FATAL  DEED 


pieces  of  artillery  and  Longstreet's  twenty-one.  Eight 
thousand  prisoners  of  war  were  taken,  fifteen  thousand 
stand  of  arms  and  forty  regimental  colors. 

Rosecrans'  army  of  eighty  thousand  men  was  literally 
cut  to  pieces  by  Bragg's  fifty  thousand  Southerners. 
No  more  brilliant  achievement  of  military  genius  il 
lumines  history.  Chickamauga  was  in  every  way  as 
desperate  a  battle  as  Arcola  —  and  in  all  Napoleon's 
Italian  campaigns  nothing  more  daring  and  wonderful 
was  accomplished  by  the  Man  of  Destiny. 

Bragg  had  justified  the  faith  of  Davis.  Rosecrans 
was  hemmed  in  in  Chattanooga,  his  supplies  cut  off  and 
his  army  facing  starvation  wKen  he,  was  relieved  of  his 
command,  Thomas  succeeding  him.  Grant  was  hur 
ried  to  Chattanooga  with  two  army  corps  to  raise  the 
siege. 

With  his  reinforcements  Grant  raised  the  siege,  sur 
prised  and  defeated  Bragg's  army  which  had  been  weak 
ened  by  the  detachment  of  Longstreet's  corps  for  a  move 
ment  on  Knoxville. 

Bragg  withdrew  his  army  again  into  Georgia  and  re 
signed  his  command.  The  stern,  irritable  Confederate 
fighter  was  disgusted  with  the  constant  attacks  on  him 
by  peanut  politicians  and  refused  to  hear  Davis'  plea 
that  he  remain  at  the  head  of  the  Western  army.  The 
President  called  him  to  Richmond  and  made  him  his 
Chief  of  Staff. 

The  disaster  to  the  Confederacy  at  Chattanooga 
which  gave  General  Grant  supreme  command  of  the 
Union  forces,  brought  to  the  Johnston  junta  at  Rich 
mond  its  opportunity  to  once  more  press  their  favorite 
to  the  front.  Since  his  Vicksburg  fiasco  the  President 
had  isolated  him.  Davis  resisted  this  appointment  with 
deep  foreboding  of  its  possible  disaster  to  the  South. 

In  the  midst  of  this  bitter  struggle  over  the  selection 
of  a  Western  Field  Commander,  the  President  of  the 

413 


THE  VICTIM 


Confederacy  received  the  first  and  only  recognition  of 
his  Government  accorded  by  any  European  power. 

His  early  education  at  the  St.  Thomas  Monastery 
had  given  the  Southern  leader  a  lofty  opinion  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  Davis  had  always  seen  in  the 
members  of  this  faith  in  America  friends  who  could  not 
be  alienated  from  the  oppressed. 

Failing  to  receive  recognition  from  the  great  powers 
of  Europe,  he  dispatched  his  diplomatic  representative 
to  Rome  with  a  carefully  worded  letter  to  the  Pope  in 
which  he  expressed  his  gratitude  to  Pius  IX  for  his 
efforts  in  behalf  of, peace.  The  Pope  had  urged  his 
bishops  in  New  Orleans  and  New  York  to  strive  to  end 
the  war. 

The  Vatican  received  the  Confederate  diplomat  with 
every  mark  of  courtesy  and  every  expression  of  respect 
accorded  the  most  powerful  nations  of  the  world.  The 
Dominican  friars  had  not  forgotten  the  wistful,  eager 
boy  they  had  taught  and  loved  in  Kentucky. 

The  Pope  replied  to  this  communication  in  an  official 
letter  which  virtually  recognized  the  Confederacy  — 
both  in  his  capacity  as  a  temporal  sovereign  and  as  the 
head  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

The  President  read  this  letter  with  renewed  hope  of 
favorable  action  abroad. 

"ILLUSTRIOUS  AND  HONORABLE  PRESIDENT: 
"Salutation: 

"  We  have  just  received  with  all  suitable  welcome  the 
persons  sent  by  you  to  place  in  our  hands  your  letter  dated 
twenty-third  of  September  last. 

"  Not  slight  was  the  pleasure  we  experienced  when  we 
learned  from  those  persons  and  the  letter,  with  what  feel 
ings  of  joy  and  gratitude  you  were  animated,  illustrious 
and  honorable  President,  as  soon  as  you  were  informed  of 
our  letters  to  our  venerable  brother  John,  Archbishop  of 

414 


THE  FATAL  DEED 


New  York,  and  John,  Archbishop  of  New  Orleans,  dated 
the  eighteenth  of  October  of  last  year,  and  in  which  we 
have  with  all  our  strength  excited  and  exhorted  these  ven 
erable  brothers,  that  in  their  episcopal  piety  and  solicitude, 
they  should  endeavor,  with  the  most  ardent  zeal,  and  in 
our  name,  to  bring  about  the  end  of  the  fatal  civil  war 
which  has  broken  out  in  those  countries,  in  order  that  the 
American  people  may  obtain  peace  and  concord,  and  dwell 
charitably  together. 

"It  is  particularly  agreeable  to  us  to  see  that  you,  il 
lustrious  and  honorable  President,  and  your  good  people, 
are  animated  with  the  same  desire  of  peace  and  tranquillity 
which  we  have  in  our  letters  inculcated  upon  our  venerable 
brothers.  May  it  please  God  at  the  same  time  to  make 
the  other  people  of  America  and  their  ruler,  reflecting 
seriously  how  terrible  is  civil  war,  and  what  calamities  it 
engenders,  listen  to  the  inspiration  of  a  calm  spirit,  and 
adopt  resolutely  the  part  of  peace. 

"  As  for  us,  we  shall  not  cease  to  offer  up  the  most 
fervent  prayers  to  God  Almighty  that  He  may  pour  out 
upon  all  the  people  of  America  the  Spirit  and  peace  and 
charity,  and  that  He  will  stop  the  great  evils  which  afflict 
them.  We  at  the  same  time  beseech  the  God  of  pity  to 
shed  abroad  upon  you  the  light  of  His  countenance  and 
attach  you  to  us  by  a  perfect  friendship. 

"  Given  at  Rome,  at  St.  Peter's,  the  third  of  December, 
1863,  of  our  Pontificate  18. 

"  (Signed)  Pius  IX." 

The  dark  hour  was  swiftly  approaching  when  the 
South  and  her  leader  would  need  the  prayers  of  all  God's 
saints. 

Failing  to  persuade  Bragg  to  reconsider  his  resig 
nation,  Davis  appointed  General  Hardee  as  his  suc 
cessor  to  command  the  Western  army.  Hardee  de 
clared  the  responsibility  was  more  than  he  could  as 
sume. 

Under  the  urgent  necessity  of  driving  the  Union  army 
back  from  its  position  at  Chattanooga  and  heartsick 

415 


THE  VICTIM 


with  eternal  wrangling  of  the  opposition,  Davis  reluc 
tantly  ordered  Joseph  E.  Johnston  personally  to  as 
sume  command  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee  —  and  the 
fatal  deed  was  done. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THE  RAIDERS 

In  February,  1864,  both  North  and  South  were 
straining  every  nerve  for  the  last  act  of -the  grand  drama 
of  blood  and  tears.  The  Presidential  election  would  be 
held  in  November  to  choose  a  successor  to  Abraham  Lin 
coln.  At  this  moment  Lincoln  was  the  most  unpopular, 
the  most  reviled,  the  most  misunderstood  and  the  most 
abused  man  who  had  ever  served  as  President  of  the 
United  States.  The  opposition  to  him  inside  his  own 
party  was  fierce,  malignant,  vindictive  and  would  stop 
short  of  nothing  to  encompass  his  defeat  in  their  nom 
inating  convention.  They  had  not  hesitated  even  to 
accuse  his  wife  of  treason. 

Military  success  and  military  success  alone  could  save 
the  administration  at  Washington.  George  B.  Mc- 
Clellan,  the  most  popular  general  of  the  Union  army, 
was  already  slated  to  oppose  Lincoln  on  a  platform  de 
manding  peace. 

If  the  South  could  hold  her  own  until  the  first  Mon 
day  in  November,  the  opposition  to  the  war  in  the  North 
would  crush  the  administration  and  peace  would  be  had 
at  the  price  of  Southern  independence. 

No  man  in  America  understood  the  tense  situation 
more  clearly  than  Jefferson  Davis.  His  agents  in  the 
North  kept  him  personally  informed  of  every  movement 
of  the  political  chess  board.  Personally  he  had  never 
believed  in  the  possibility  of  the  South  winning  in  a 
conflict  of  arms  since  the  death  of  Jackson  had  been 
28  417 


THE  VICTIM 


given  its  full  significance  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
He  had  however  believed  in  the  possibility  of  the  party 
of  the  North  which  stood  for  the  old  Constitution  win 
ning  an  election  on  the  issue  of  a  bloody  and  unsuccess 
ful  war  and,  on  their  winning,  that  he  could  open  ne 
gotiations  for  peace  and  gain  every  point  for  which  the 
war  had  been  fought.  It  all  depended  on  the  battles 
of  the  coming  spring  and  summer. 

Grant,  the  new  Commander-in-Chief  of  tke  armies  of 
the  Union,  had  been  given  a  free  hand  with  unlimited 
resources  of  men  and  money.  He  was  now  directing 
the  movements  of  nearly  a  million  soldiers  in  blue. 

Sherman  was  drilling  under  his  orders  an  army  of 
a  hundred  thousand  with  which  to  march  into  Georgia 
—  while  Grant  himself  would  direct  the  movement  of  a 
quarter  of  a  million  men  in  his  invasion  of  Virginia. 

The  Confederate  President  saw  at  once  that  Lee's 
army  must  be  raised  to  its  highest  point  of  efficiency  and 
that  it  was  of  equal  importance  that  Joseph  E.  John 
ston  should  be  given  as  many  or  more  men  with  which 
to  oppose  Sherman. 

To  allow  for  Johnston's  feeble  strategy,  Davis  sent 
him  68,000  soldiers  to  Dalton,  Georgia,  to  meet  Sher 
man's  100,000  and  gave  Lee  64,000  with  which  to  op 
pose  Grant's  150,000  threatening  to  cross  the  Rapidan 
and  move  directly  on  Richmond. 

Socola  had  informed  the  War  Department  at  Wash 
ington  that  the  Confederate  Capital  had  been  stripped 
of  any  semblance  of  an  effective  garrison  to  fill  the  ranks 
of  Lee  and  Johnston. 

General  Judson  Kilpatrick  was  authorized  to  select 
three  thousand  picked  cavalry,  dash  suddenly  on  Rich 
mond,  capture  it  and  release  the  15,000  Union  pris 
oners  confined  in  its  walls  and  stockades. 

These  prisoners  Grant  steadily  refused  to  receive  in 
exchange.  In  vain  Davis  besought  the  Federal  Gov- 

418 


THE  RAIDERS 


ernment  to  take  them  home  in  return  for  an  equal  num 
ber  of  Confederate  prisoners  who  were  freezing  and 
dying  in  the  North. 

Grant's  logic  was  inexorable.  Every  Confederate 
prisoner  exchanged  and  sent  back  home  meant  a  recruit 
to  Lee's  army.  It  was  cruel  to  leave  his  men  to  lan 
guish  in  beleaguered  Richmond  whose  citizens  were  riot 
ing  in  the  streets  for  bread,  but  he  figured  these  pris 
oners  as  soldiers  dying  in  battle.  The  Confederate  Gov 
ernment  had  no  medicine  for  them.  The  blockade  was 
drawn  so  tight  scarcely  an  ounce  of  medicine  could  be 
obtained  for  the  Confederate  army.  Davis  offered  the 
Washington  Government  to  let  their  own  surgeons  come 
to  Richmond  and  carry  medicine  and  food  to  their  pris 
oners.  His  request  was  refused. 

The  only  thing  Grant  conceded  was  his  consent  to 
Kilpatrick's  attempt  to  free  and  arm  these  15,000  pris 
oners  and  loose  them  with  fire  and  sword  in  the  streets 
of  the  Confederate  Capital. 

Little  did  the  men,  women  and  children  of  Richmond 
dream  that  they  were  lying  down  each  night  to  sleep 
on  the  thin  crust  of  a  volcano. 

Captain  Welford  in  the  pursuit  of  Socola  and  Miss 
Van  Lew  had  found  that  the  woman  on  Church  Hill  per 
sisted  in  her  visits  to  the  prisons.  Libby,  which  con 
tained  a  number  of  Union  officers  of  rank,  was  her  fa 
vorite. 

On  the  last  day  of  February  his  patient  watch  was 
rewarded.  He  had  placed  a  spy  in  Libby  disguised 
as  a  captive  Union  soldier. 

This  man  had  sent  the  Captain  an  urgent  message 
to  communicate  with  him  at  once.  Within  thirty  min 
utes  Welford  confronted  him  in  the  guardroom  of  the 
prison. 

The  Captain  spoke  in  sharp  nervous  tones : 

"Well?" 

419 


THE  VICTIM 


"  I've  something  big  — " 

He  paused  and  glanced  about  the  room. 

"  Go  on !  " 

"  There's  a  plot  on  foot  inside  to  escape  — " 

"  Of  course.  They're  always  plotting  to  escape  — 
we've  no  real  prison  system  —  no  discipline.  Hun 
dreds  have  escaped  already.  It's  nothing  new  — " 

"  This  is  new,"  the  spy  went  on  eagerly.  "  They  let 
me  into  their  councils  last  night.  There's  going  to  be 
a  big  raid  on  Richmond  —  the  men  inside  are  going 
to  fight  their  way  out,  arm  themselves  and  burn  the  city. 
When  they  get  the  signal  from  the  outside  they'll  bat 
ter  down  the  walls  and  rush  through  — " 

"  Batter  down  the  walls?  " 

"Yes,  sir— " 

"How?" 

"  They've  loosed  two  big  rafters  and  have  them  ready 
to  use  as  battering  rams  — " 

"You're  sure  of  this?" 

"  Sure's  God's  in  heaven.  Go  in  and  see  for  your 
self—" 

Captain  Welford  gave  a  low  whistle. 

"  This  is  big  news.  There  are  enough  prisoners  in 
Richmond  to  make  an  army  corps  —  eleven  hundred  in 
here  —  twenty-five  hundred  at  Crew  and  Pemberton's 
—  at  Belle  Isle  and  the  other  stockades  at  least  fifteen 
thousand  in  all.  They  are  guarded  by  a  handful  of 
men.  If  they  realize  their  power,  they  can  batter  their 
way  out  in  five  minutes  and  sweep  the  city  with  blood 
and  fire—" 

He  stopped  suddenly,  drew  a  deep  breath  and  turned 
again  to  the  man. 

"  That'U  do  for  you  here.  Take  a  little  rest.  You'd 
as  well  go  back  into  a  lion's  den  when  they  find  out  that 
I  know.  They'd  spot  you  sure  and  tear  you  limb  from 
limb." 

420 


THE  RAIDERS 


The  spy  saluted. 

"  Report  to  me  a  week  from  to-day  at  the  office. 
You've  earned  a  vacation." 

The  man  saluted  again  and  passed  quickly  out. 

Captain  Welford  asked  the  Superintendent  to  call  his 
prisoners  together. 

"  I  have  something  to  say  to  them." 

A  thousand  silent  men  in  blue  were  gathered  in  the 
assembly  room  of  the  old  warehouse. 

Captain  Welford  boldly  entered  the  place  carrying  a 
box  in  his  hand.  He  placed  it  on  the  floor,  sprang  on 
it  and  lifted  his  hand  over  the  crowd : 

"  I've  an  announcement  to  make,  gentlemen,"  he  be 
gan  quietly  amid  a  silence  that  was  death  like.  "  The 
Department  which  I  represent  has  learned  that  you 
are  planning  to  batter  down  the  walls  and  join  a 
force  of  raiders  who  are  on  the  way  to  capture  Rich 
mond  — " 

He  paused  and  a  murmur  of  smothered  despair,  in 
articulate,  bitter,  crept  through  the  crowd. 

"  To  forestall  this  little  scheme,  I  have  planted  a  thou 
sand  pounds  of  powder  under  this  building.  I  have 
mined  every  other  prison.  The  first  one  of  you  that 
lifts  his  finger  to  escape  gives  the  signal  that  will  blow 
you  into  Eternity — " 

Dick  stepped  from  the  box  and  made  his  way  out 
without  another  word.  He  could  feel  the  wild  heart  beat 
of  baffled  hope  as  they  followed  him  to  the  door  with 
despairing  eyes. 

A  murmur  of  sickening  rage  swept  the  prison.  An 
ominous  silence  fell  where  hope  had  beat  high. 

The  same  strategic  announcement  was  made  in  every 
prison  in  Richmond.  No  mines  had  been  laid.  But  the 
story  served  its  purpose.  Fifteen  thousand  men  were 
bound  hand  and  foot  by  fear.  Three  hundred  soldiers 
guarded  them  successfully.  Not  a  finger  was  lifted  to 

421 


THE  VICTIM 


help  their  bold  rescuers  who  were  already  dashing 
toward  the  city. 

Colonel  Ulric  Dahlgren  was  crossing  the  James  above 
Richmond  to  strike  from  the  south  side,  while  General 
Kilpatrick  led  the  attack  direct  from  the  north.  Dahl 
gren  crossed  the  river  at  Ely's  Ford,  passed  in  the  rear 
of  Lee's  army,  captured  a  Confederate  court  martial  in 
session,  but  missed  a  park  of  sixty-eight  pieces  of  ar 
tillery  which  had  been  left  unguarded. 

When  they  again  reached  the  James  at  Davis'  Mill, 
where  a  ford  was  supposed  to  be,  none  could  be  found. 
Stanton  had  sent  from  Washington  a  negro  guide. 
They  accused  the  negro  of  treachery  and  hung  him  from 
the  nearest  limb  without  the  formality  of  a  drumhead 
court  martial. 

At  dawn  on  March  first,  Bradley  Johnson's  cavalry, 
guarding  Lee?s  flank,  struck  one  of  Kilpatrick's  parties 
and  drove  them  in  on  the  main  body.  They  pursued 
Kilpatrick's  men  through  Ashland  and  down  to  the  outer 
defenses  of  Richmond. 

Here  the  raiders  dismounted  their  twenty-five  hun 
dred  men  and  prepared  to  attack  the  entrenchments. 
Wade  Hampton  immediately  moved  out  to  meet  him. 
Bradley  Johnson's  Marylanders  drew  up  in  Kilpatrick's 
rear  at  the  same  moment,  and  captured  five  men  bear 
ing  dispatches  from  Dahlgren.  He  would  attack  on 
the  rear  at  sunset.  He  asked  Kilpatrick  to  strike  at 
the  same  moment. 

Johnson  boldly  charged  Kilpatrick's  rear  with  his 
handful  of  men  and  drove  him  headlong  down  the  Pe 
ninsula  to  the  York  River.  The  Confederate  leader 
had  but  seventy-five  men  and  two  pieces  of  artillery  but 
he  hung  on  Kilpatrick's  division  of  twenty-five  hundred 
and  captured  a  hundred  and  forty  prisoners. 

Dahlgren  at  night  with  but  four  hundred  men  boldly 
attacked  the  defenses  on  the  north  side  of  the  city.  He 

422 


THE  RAIDERS 


was  met  by  a  company  of  Richmond  boys  under  eighteen 
years  of  age.  The  youngsters  gave  such  good  account 
of  themselves  that  he  withdrew  from  the  field,  leaving 
forty  of  his  men  dead  and  wounded. 

In  his  retreat  down  the  Peninsula,  he  failed  to  find 
Kilpatrick's  division.  His  command  was  cut  to  pieces 
and  captured  and  Dahlgren  himself  killed. 

The  part  which  Socola  had  played  in  this  raid  was 
successfully  accomplished  without  a  hitch.  He  was 
compelled  to  answer  the  drum  which  called  every  clerk 
of  his  Department  to  arms  for  the  defense  of  the  city. 
In  the  darkness  he  succeeded  in  pressing  into  Dahlgren's 
lines  and  on  his  retreat  made  his  way  back  to  his  place 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Confederates. 

It  was  a  little  thing  which  betrayed  him  after  the  real 
danger  was  past  and  brought  him  face  to  face  with 
Jennie  Barton. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

THE  DISCOVERY 

From  the  moment  Captain  Welford  had  discovered 
the  plot  of  the  prisoners  to  cooperate  with  Kilpatrick 
and  Dahlgren  he  was  morally  sure  that  Miss  Van  Lew 
had  been  their  messenger.  He  was  equally  sure  that 
Socola  had  been  one  of  her  accomplices. 

On  the  day  of  the  announcement  of  his  powder  plant 
to  the  prisoners  he  set  a  guard  to  watch  the  house  on 
Church  Hill,  and  report  to  him  the  moment  "  Crazy 
Bet  "  should  emerge. 

Within  two  hours  he  received  the  message  that  she 
was  on  her  way  down  town  with  her  market  basket 
swinging  on  her  arm.  Dick  knew  that  this  woman  could 
not  recognize  him  personally.  He  was  only  distantly 
related  to  the  Welfords  of  Richmond. 

Miss  Van  Lew  was  in  a  nervous  agony  to  deliver  her 
dispatch  to  Kilpatrick,  warning  him  that  the  purpose 
of  the  raid  had  been  discovered  and  that  he  must  act 
with  the  utmost  caution.  She  had  no  scout  at  hand 
and  Kilpatrick's  was  expected  every  moment  at  her 
rendezvous  near  the  market. 

Dick  turned  the  corner,  circled  a  block,  and  met  her. 
She  was  childishly  swinging  the  basket  on  her  arm  and 
humming  a  song.  She  smiled  vacantly  into  his  face. 
He  caught  the  look  of  shrewd  intelligence  and  saw 
through  her  masquerade.  A  single  word  from  her  lips 
now  would  send  her  to  the  gallows  and  certainly  lead 
to  Socola's  arrest. 

The  Captain  was  certain  that  she  carried  dispatches 
424 


THE  DISCOVERY 


on  her  person  at  that  moment.  If  he  could  only  in 
duce  her  to  drop  them,  the  trick  would  be  turned. 

He  turned,  retraced  his  steps,  overtook  her  and  whis 
pered  as  he  passed: 

"  Your  trusted  messenger  — " 

She  paid  no  attention.  There  was  not  the  slightest 
recognition  —  no  surprise  —  no  inquiry.  Her  thin 
face  was  a  mask  of  death. 

Was  this  man  Kilpatrick's  scout?  Or  was  he  a  Se 
cret  Service  man  on  her  trail?  The  questions  seethed 
through  her  excited  soul.  Her  life  hung  on  the  answer. 
It  was  a  question  of  judgment  of  character  and  per 
sonality.  The  man  was  a  stranger.  But  the  need  was 
terrible.  Should  she  take  the  chance? 

She  quickened  her  pace  and  passed  Dick. 

Again  she  heard  him  whisper: 

"  Your  messenger  is  here.  I  am  going  through  to 
night." 

In  her  hand  clasped  tight  was  her  dispatch  torn  into 
strips  and  each  strip  rolled  into  a  tiny  ball.  Should 
she  commence  to  drop  them  one  by  one? 

Perplexed,  she  stopped  and  glanced  back  suddenly 
into  Dick's  face.  Her  decision  was  instantaneous.  The 
subtle  sixth  sense  had  revealed  in  a  flash  of  his  eager 
eyes  her  mortal  danger.  She  turned  into  a  side  street 
and  hurried  home. 

The  Captain  was  again  baffled  by  a  woman's  wit. 
His  disappointment  was  keen.  He  had  hoped  to  prove 
his  accusation  to  Jennie  Barton  before  the  sun  set.  She 
had  ceased  to  fight  his  suspicions  of  Socola.  His  name 
was  not  mentioned.  She  was  watching  her  lover  with 
more  desperate  earnestness  even  than  he. 

The  Captain  had  failed  to  entrap  the  wily  little 
woman  with  her  market  basket,  but  through  her  he 
struck  the  trail  of  the  big  quarry  he  had  sought  for  two 
years.  Socola  was  imperiled  by  a  woman's  sentimental 

425 


THE  VICTIM 


whim  —  this  woman  with  nerves  of  steel  and  a  heart 
whose  very  throb  she  could  control  by  an  indomitable 
will. 

Heartsick  over  her  failure  to  get  through  the  lines 
her  warning  to  Kilpatrick,  she  had  felt  the  responsibil 
ity  of  young  Dahlgren's  tragic  death.  Woman-like  she 
determined,  at  the  risk  of  her  life  and  the  life  of  every 
man  she  knew,  to  send  the  body  of  this  boy  back  to 
his  father  in  the  North. 

In  vain  Socola  pleaded  against  this  mad  undertak 
ing. 

The  woman's  soul  had  been  roused  by  the  pathetic 
figure  of  the  daring  young  raider  whose  crutches  were 
fouod  strapped  to  his  saddle.  He  had  lost  a  leg  but 
a  few  months  before. 

He  had  been  buried  at  the  cross-roads  where  he  fell 
—  the  roads  from  Stevensville  and  Mantua  Ferry.  In 
pity  for  the  sorrow  of  his  distinguished  father  Davis 
had  ordered  the  body  disinterred  and  brought  into  Rich 
mond.  It  was  buried  at  night  in  a  spot  unknown  to 
anyone  save  the  Confederate  authorities.  Feeling  had 
run  so  high  on  the  discovery  of  the  purpose  of  the  raid 
ers  to  burn  the  city  that  the  Confederate  President 
feared  some  shocking  indignity  might  be  offered  the 
body. 

The  night  Miss  Van  Lew  selected  for  her  enterprise 
was  cold  and  dark  and  the  rain  fell  in  dismal,  continu 
ous  drizzle.  The  grave  had  been  discovered  by  a  negro 
who  saw  the  soldiers  bury  the  body.  It  was  identified 
by  the  missing  right  leg. 

The  work  was  done  without  interruption  or  discov 
ery. 

Socola  placed  the  body  in  Rowley's  wagon  which  was 
filled  with  young  peach  trees  concealing  the  casket.  The 
pickets  would  be  deceived  by  the  simple  device.  Should 
one  of  them  thrust  his  bayonet  into  the  depths  of  those 

426 


THE  DISCOVERY 


young  trees  more  than  one  neck  would  pay  the  penalty. 
But  they  wouldn't.     He  was  sure  of  it. 

At  the  picket  post  Rowley  sat  in  stolid  indifference 
while  he  heard  the  order  to  search  his  wagon.  He  en 
gaged  the  guard  in  conversation.  Wagons  entered  and 
passed  and  still  he  talked  lazily  to  his  chosen  friend. 

The  Lieutenant  looked  from  his  tent  and  yelled  at 
last: 

"  What  'ell's  the  matter  with  you  —  search  that  man 
and  let  him  go  — " 

"  It  would  be  a  pity  to  tear  up  all  those  fruit  trees !  " 
the  guard  said  with  a  yawn. 

"  I  didn't  think  you'd  bother  'em,"  Rowley  answered 
indifferently,  "  but  I  know  a  soldier's  duty  — " 

Another  wagon  dashed  up  in  a  hurry.  The  guard 
examined  him  and  he  passed  on. 

Again  the  Lieutenant  called : 

"  Search  that  man  and  let  him  go ! " 

Rowley's  face  was  a  mask  of  lazy  indifference. 

The  guard  glanced  at  him  and  spoke  in  low  tones: 

"  Your  face  is  guarantee  enough,  partner  —  go 
on  — " 

Socola  flanked  the  picket  and  joined  Rowley.  Near 
Hungary,  on  the  farm  of  Orrick  the  German,  a  grave 
was  hurriedly  dug  and  the  casket  placed  in  it.  The 
women  helped  to  heap  the  dirt  in  and  plant  over  it  one 
of  the  peach  trees. 

Three  days  later  in  response  to  a  pitiful  appeal  from 
Dahlgren's  father,  Davis  ordered  the  boy's  body  sent 
to  Washington.  The  grave  had  been  robbed.  The  sen 
sation  this  created  was  second  only  to  the  raid  itself. 

It  was  only  too  evident  to  the  secret  service  of  the 
Confederate  Government  that  an  organization  of  Fed 
eral  spies  honeycombed  the  city.  The  most  desperate 
and  determined  efforts  were  put  forth  to  unearth  these 
conspirators. 

427 


THE  VICTIM 


Captain  Welford  had  made  the  discovery  that  the 
conspirators  who  had  stolen  Dahlgren's  body  had  cut 
his  curling  blond  hair  and  dispatched  it  to  Washing 
ton.  The  bearer  of  this  dispatch  was  a  negro.  He  had 
been  thoroughly  searched,  but  no  incriminating  papers 
were  found.  The  Captain  had  removed  a  lock  of  this 
peculiarly  beautiful  hair  and  allowed  the  messenger  of 
love  to  go  on  his  way  determined  to  follow  him  on  his 
return  to  Richmond  and  locate  his  accomplices. 

Dick's  report  of  this  affair  to  Jennie  had  started  a 
train  of  ideas  which  again  centered  her  suspicions  on 
Socola.  The  night  this  body  had  been  stolen  she  had 
sent  for  her  lover  in  a  fit  of  depression.  The  rain  was 
pouring  in  cold,  drizzling  monotony.  Her  loneliness 
had  become  unbearable. 

He  was  not  at  home  and  could  not  be  found.  Alarmed 
and  still  more  depressed  she  sent  her  messenger  three 
times.  The  last  call  he  made  was  long  past  midnight. 

Her  suspicion  of  his  connection  with  the  service  of 
the  enemy  had  become  unendurable.  She  had  not  seen 
or  heard  from  him  since  the  effort  to  find  him  that  night. 
He  was  at  his  desk  at  work  as  usual  next  morning. 

She  wrote  him  a  note  and  begged  that  he  call  at  once. 
He  came  within  half  an  hour,  a  wistful  smile  lighting 
his  face  as  he  extended  his  hand: 

"  I  am  forgiven  for  having  been  born  abroad  ?  " 

"  I  have  sent  for  you  — " 

"  I've  waited  long." 

"  It's  not  the  first  time  I've  asked  you  to  call,"  she 
cried  in  strained  tones. 

«  No?  " 

She  held  his  gaze  with  steady  intensity. 

"  I  sent  for  you  the  night  young  Dahlgren's  body  was 
stolen  — " 

"Really?" 

"  It  was  raining.  I  was  horribly  depressed.  I 
428 


THE  DISCOVERY 


couldn't  endure  the  strain.     I  meant  to  surrender  ut 
terly  and  trust  you  — " 

"  I  didn't  get  your  message  — " 

"I  know  that  you  didn't  —  where  were  you?" 

"  Engaged  on  important  business  for  the  Govern 
ment  — " 

"What  Government?" 

"  How  can  you  ask  such  a  question  ?  " 

"  I  do  ask  it.  I  sent  for  you  three  times  —  the  third 
time  after  midnight.  It  wasn't  very  modest,  perhaps. 
I  was  so  miserable  I  didn't  care.  I  just  wanted  to  put 
my  arms  around  your  neck  and  tell  you  to  love  me  al 
ways  —  that  nothing  else  mattered  — " 

"  Nothing  else  does  matter,  dearest  — " 

"  Yes  —  it  does.  It  matters  whether  you  have  used 
me  to  betray  my  people.  Where  were  you  at  twelve 
o'clock  night  before  last  ?  " 

"  I'd  rather  not  tell  you  — " 

"  I  demand  it—" 

A  quizzical  smile  played  about  Socola's  handsome 
mouth  as  he  faced  her  frankly. 

"  I  was  in  a  gambling  establishment  — " 

"Whose?" 

"  Johnnie  Worsham's  — " 

"  What  were  you  doing  there  ?  You  neither  drink 
nor  gamble." 

Again  the  dark  face  smiled. 

"  I  was  asked  by  my  Chief  to  report  on  the  habits 
of  every  man  in  my  Department  —  particularly  to  re 
port  every  man  who  frequents  the  gambling  hells  of 
Richmond  — " 

Jennie  watched  him  nervously,  her  hands  trem 
bling. 

"  It's  possible  of  course  — " 

Her  eyes  suddenly  filled  with  tears  and  she  threw 
herself  into  his  arms. 

429 


THE  VICTIM 


And  then  it  happened  —  the  little  thing,  trivial  and 
insignificant,  that  makes  and  unmakes  life. 

For  a  long  while  no  words  were  spoken.  With  gen 
tle  touch  he  soothed  her  trembling  body,  bending  to 
kiss  the  waves  of  rich  brown  hair. 

She  pushed  him  at  arm's  length  at  last  and  looked 
up  smiling. 

"  I  can't  help  it  —  I  love  you !  " 

"  When  will  you  learn  that  we  must  trust  where  we 
love  — " 

He  stopped  suddenly.  Her  brown  eyes  were  fixed 
with  terror  on  a  single  strand  of  curling  blond  hair 
caught  on  the  button  of  his  waistcoat. 

"What  is  it?"  he  asked  in  alarm. 

She  drew  the  hair  from  his  coat  carefully  and  held 
it  to  the  light  in  silence. 

"You  can't  be  jealous?" 

She  looked  at  him  curiously. 

"Yes.     I   have  a   rival—" 

"A  rival?" 

Her  eyes  pierced  him. 

"  Your  love  for  the  Union !  I've  suspected  you  be 
fore.  You've  evaded  my  questions.  Our  love  has 
been  so  big  and  sweet  a  thing  that  you  have  always 
stammered  and  hesitated  to  tell  me  a  deliberate  lie. 
It's  not  necessary  now.  I  know.  Ulrich  Dahlgren  is 
the  age  of  my  brother  Billy.  They  used  to  play  to 
gether  in  Washington  at  Commodore  Dahlgren's  home 
and  at  ours.  He  had  the  most  peculiarly  beautiful 
blond  hair  I  ever  saw  on  a  man.  I'd  know  it  anywhere 
on  earth.  That  strand  is  his,  poor  boy!  Besides, 
Dick  Welford  captured  your  messenger  with  that  pu- 
thetic  little  bundle  on  his  way  to  Washington  — " 

Socola  started  in  spite  of  his  desperate  effort  at 
self-control  and  was  about  to  speak  when  Jennie  lifted 
her  hand. 

430 


THE  DISCOVERY 


66  Don't,  please.  It's  useless  to  quibble  and  argue 
with  me  longer.  We  face  each  other  with  souls  bare. 
I  don't  ask  you  why  you  have  deceived  me.  Your 
business  as  a  Federal  spy  is  to  deceive  the  enemy  — " 

"  You  are  not  my  enemy,"  he  interrupted  in  a  sud 
den  burst  of  passion.  "  You  are  my  mate !  You  are 
mine  by  all  the  laws  of  God  and  nature.  I  love  you. 
I  worship  you.  We  are  not  enemies.  W.e  never  have 
been  —  we  never  shall  be.  With  the  last  breath  I 
breathe  your  name  shall  be  on  my  lips  — " 

"  You  may  speak  your  last  word  soon  — " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  I  am  going  to  surrender  you  to  the  authorities  — " 

"  And  you  have  just  been  sobbing  in  my  arms  —  the 
man  you  have  sworn  to  love  forever  ?  " 

"  It's  the  only  atonement  I  can  make.  Through 
you  I  have  betrayed  my  country  and  my  people.  I 
would  gladly  die  in  your  place.  The  hard  thing  will 
be  to  do  my  duty  and  give  you  up  to  the  death  you 
have  earned." 

"  You  can  deliver  me  to  execution  ?  " 

"  Yes  — "  was  the  firm  answer.  "  Listen  to 
this  — " 

She  seized  a  copy  of  the  morning  paper. 

"  Colonel  Dahlgren's  instructions  to  his  men.  This 
document  was  found  on  his  person  when  shot.  There 
is  no  question  of  its  genuineness  — " 

She  paused  and  read  in  cold  hard  tones: 

"  Guides,  pioneers  (with  oakum,  turpentine  and  torpe 
does),  signal  officer,  quarter  master,  commissary,  scouts, 
and  picket  men  in  rebel  uniform  —  remain  on  the  north 
bank  and  move  down  with  the  force  on  the  south  bank. 
If  communications  can  be  kept  up  without  giving  an  alarm 
it  must  be  done.  Everything  depends  upon  a  surprise, 
and  no  one  must  be  allowed  to  pass  ahead  of  this  column. 
All  mills  must  be  burned  and  the  canal  destroyed.  Keep 

431 


THE  VICTIM 


the  forcte  on  the  southern  side  posted  of  any  important 
movement  of  the  enemy,  and  in  case  of  danger  some  of  the 
scouts  must  swim  the  river  and  bring  us  information.  We 
must  try  to  secure  the  bridge  to  the  city  (one  mile  below 
Belle  Isle)  and  release  the  prisoners  at  the  same  time.  If 
we  do  not  succeed  they  must  then  dash  down,  and  we  will 
try  to  carry  the  bridge  from  each  side.  The  bridges  once 
secured,  and  the  prisoners  loosed  and  over  the  river,  the 
bridges  will  be  secured  and  the  city  destroyed  — " 

Jennie  paused  and  lifted  her  eyes  burning  with 
feverish  light. 

"Merciful  God!  How?  With  oakum,  and  turpen 
tine.  A  city  of  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants, 
under  the  cover  of  darkness  —  men,  women  and  chil 
dren,  the  aged,  the  poor,  the  helpless !  " 

Socola  made  no  answer.  A  thoughtful  dreamy  look 
masked  his  handsome  features. 

Jennie  read  the  next  sentence  from  the  Dahlgren 
paper  in  high  quivering  tones : 

"  The  men  must  be  kept  together  and  well  in  hand,  and 
once  in  the  city,  it  must  be  destroyed  and  Jeff  Davis  and 
his  Cabinet  killed  — " 

The  girl  paused  and  fixed  her  gaze  on  Socola. 

"  The  man  who  planned  that  raid  came  with  the  will 
ful  and  deliberate  murder  of  unarmed  men  in  his  soul. 
The  man  who  helped  him  inside  is  equally  guilty  of  his 
crime  — " 

She  resumed  her  reading  without  waiting  for  reply. 

"  Prisoners  will  go  along  with  combustible  material. 
The  officer  must  use  his  discretion  about  the  time  of  assist 
ing  us.  Pioneers  must  be  prepared  to  construct  a  bridge 
or  destroy  one.  They  must  have  plenty  of  oakum  and 
turpentine  for  burning,  which  will  be  rolled  in  soaked  balls, 
and  given  to  the  men  to  burn  when  we  get  into  the  city  — " 

Socola  lifted  his  hand. 

432 


THE  DISCOVERY 


"  Please,  dear  —  these  instructions  are  not  mine. 
I  do  not  excuse  or  palliate  them.  The  daring  young 
ster  who  conceived  this  paid  the  penalty  with  his  life. 
It's  all  that  any  of  us  can  give  for  his  country. 
There's  something  that  interests  me  now  far  more  than 
this  sensation  —  far  more  than  the  mere  fact  that  my 
true  business  here  has  been  discovered  by  you  and  my 
life  forfeited  to  your  Government — " 

"And  that  is?" 

"  That  the  woman  I  love  can  deliver  me  to  death  — " 

"You  doubt  it?" 

"  I  had  not  believed  it  possible." 

"I'll  show  you." 

Jennie  stepped  to  the  door  and  pulled  the  old-fash 
ioned  bell-cord. 

A  servant  appeared. 

In  strained  tones  the  girl  said: 

"  Go  to  Captain  Welford's  office  and  ask  him  to 
come  here  immediately  with  two  soldiers  — " 

"  Yassam  — " 

The  negro  bowed  and  hurried  from  the  house,  and 
Jennie  sat  down  in  silence  beside  the  door. 

Socola  confronted  her,  his  hands  gripped  in  nervous 
agony  behind  his  back,  his  slender  figure  erect,  his 
breath  coming  in  deep  excited  draughts. 

"  You  think  that  I'll  submit  to  my  fate  without  a 
fight?" 

"  You've  got  to  submit.  Your  escape  from  Rich 
mond  is  a  physical  impossibility — " 

He  searched  the  depths  of  her  heart. 

"  I  was  not  thinking  of  my  body  just  then.  I  have 
no  desire  to  live  if  you  can  hand  me  to  my  execu 
tioner  — " 

He  paused  and  a  sob  came  from  the  girl's  distracted 
soul. 

He  moved  a  step  closer. 
29  433 


THE  VICTIM 


"  I'm  not  afraid  to  die  —  you  must  know  that  — 
I'm  not  a  coward — " 

"  No.     I  couldn't  have  loved  a  coward !  " 

"  The  thing  I  can't  endure  is  that  you,  the  woman 
to  whom  I  have  surrendered  my  soul,  should  judge  me 
worthy  of  death.  Come,  my  own,  this  is  madness. 
We  must  see  each  other  as  God  sees  now.  You  must 
realize  that  only  the  highest  and  noblest  motive  could 
have  sent  a  man  of  my  character  and  training  on  such 
a  mission.  We  differ  in  our  political  views  for  the  mo 
ment  —  even  as  you  differ  from  the  older  brother 
whom  you  love  and  respect  — " 

"  I  am  not  responsible  for  my  brother's  acts.  I  am 
for  yours — " 

"  Nonsense,  dear  heart.  My  work  was  ordained  of 
God  from  the  beginning.  It  was  fate.  Nothing 
could  have  stopped  me.  I  came  under  a  mighty  im 
pulse  of  love  for  my  country  —  bigger  than  the  North 
or  the  South.  God  sent  me.  You  have  helped  me. 
But  if  you  had  not  I  would  still  have  succeeded.  Can't 
you  forget  for  the  moment  the  details  of  this  blood 
stained  struggle  —  the  maimed  lad  with  his  crutches 
strapped  to  his  saddle,  lost  in  the  black  storm  night 
in  the  country  of  his  enemies  and  shot  to  pieces  —  the 
mad  scheme  his  impulsive  brain  had  dreamed  of  wiping 
your  Capital  from  the  earth  and  leading  fifteen  thou 
sand  shouting  prisoners  back  into  freedom  and  life  — 
surely  he  paid  for  his  madness.  Forget  that  I  have 
deceived  you,  and  see  the  vision  of  which  I  dream  —  a 
purified  and  redeemed  Nation  —  united  forever  —  no 
North,  no  South  —  no  East,  no  West  —  the  inherit 
ance  of  our  children  and  all  the  children  of  the  world's 
oppressed!  I  am  fighting  for  you  and  yours  as  well 
as  my  own.  The  South  is  mine.  I  love  its  beautiful 
mountains  and  plains  —  its  rivers  and  shining  seas  — 
Oh,  my  love,  can't  you  see  this  divine  vision  of  the  fu- 

434 


THE  DISCOVERY 


ture?  The  Union  must  be  saved.  The  stars  in  their 
courses  fight  its  battles.  Nothing  is  surer  in  the  cal 
endar  of  time  than  that  the  day  is  swiftly  coming  when 
the  old  flag  your  fathers  first  flung  to  the  breeze  will 
be  again  lifted  from  your  Capitol  building.  You  can't 
put  me  out  of  your  life  as  a  criminal  worthy  of  death ! 
I  won't  have  it.  I  am  yours  and  you  are  mine.  I  am 
not  pleading  for  my  life.  I'm  pleading  for  something 
bigger  and  sweeter  than  life.  I'm  pleading  for  my 
love.  I  can  laugh  at  death.  I  can't  endure  that  you 
put  me  out  of  your  heart  — " 

Jennie  rose  with  determination,  walked  to  the  win 
dow  and  laughed  hysterically. 

"  Well,  I'm  going  to  put  you  out.  Captain  Wei- 
ford  and  his  men  are  coming.  They've  just  turned 
the  corner !  " 

The  man's  figure  slowly  straightened,  and  his  eyes 
closed  in  resignation. 

"  Then  it's  God's  will  and  my  work  is  done." 

With  a  sudden  cry  Jennie  threw  herself  in  his  arms. 

"  Forgive  me,  dear  Lord.  I  can't  do  this  hideous 
thing!  It's  my  duty,  but  I  can't.  My  darling  —  my 
own!  You  shall  not  die.  I  was  mad.  Forgive  me! 
Forgive  me !  My  own  — " 

"Halt!" 

The  sharp  command  of  the  Captain  rang  outside 
the  door. 

"  Get  into  this  room  —  quick  — "  the  girl  cried, 
pushing  Socola  into  the  adjoining  room  and  slamming 
the  door  as  Dick  entered  the  hall. 

She  faced  the  Captain  with  a  smile. 

"  It's  all  right  now,  Dick.  I  thought  I  had  discov 
ered  an  important  secret.  It  was  a  mistake  — " 

The  Captain  smiled. 

"  You  don't  mind  my  looking  about  the  house  ?  " 

"Searching  the  house?" 
435 


THE  VICTIM 


"Just  the  lower  floor?" 

"  I  do  mind  it.  How  dare  you  suggest  such  a 
thing,  sir — " 

"  Because  I've  made  a  guess  at  the  truth.  You 
discovered  important  evidence  incriminating  Socola. 
Your  first  impulse  was  to  do  your  duty  —  you  weak 
ened  at  the  last  moment  — " 

"  Absurd !  "  she  gasped. 

"  I  happened  to  hear  a  door  slam  as  I  entered.  I'll 
have  to  look  around  a  little." 

He  started  to  the  door  behind  which  Socola  had 
taken  refuge.  Jennie  confronted  him. 

"  You  can't  go  in  there  — " 

"  It's  no  use,  Jennie  —  I'm  going  to  search  that 
room  —  the  whole  house  if  necessary." 

"Why?" 

"  I  know  that  Socola  is  here  — " 

"And  if  he  is?" 

"  I'll  arrest  him  — " 

"On  what  charge?" 

"  He  is  a  Federal  spy  and  you  know  it  — " 

"  You  can't  prove  it." 

"  I've  found  the  evidence.  I  have  searched  his 
rooms  — " 

"  Searched  his  rooms?  " 

"  Your  servant  told  me  that  he  was  here.  I  leaped 
to  a  conclusion,  forced  his  door  and  found  this  — " 

He  thrust  a  well-thumbed  copy  of  the  cipher  code 
of  the  Federal  Secret  Service  into  her  hand. 

"  You  —  you  —  can't  execute  him,  Dick,"  Jennie 
sobbed. 

"  I  will." 

"  You  can't.  I  love  him.  He  can  do  no  more  harm 
here." 

"  He's  done  enough.  His  life  belongs  to  the 
South  — " 

436 


THE  DISCOFERY 


She  placed  her  trembling  hand  on  his  arm. 

"  You  are  sure  that  deep  down  in  your  heart  there's 
not  another  motive  ?  " 

"  No  matter  how  many  motives  —  one  is  enough.  I 
have  the  evidence  on  which  to  send  him  to  the  gal 
lows  — " 

The  girl's  head  drooped. 

"  And  I  gave  it  to  you  —  God  have  mercy !  " 

The  tears  began  to  stream  down  her  cheeks.  Dick 
moved  uneasily  and  looked  the  other  way. 

"  I've  got  to  do  it,"  he  repeated  stubbornly. 

Her  voice  was  the  merest  whisper  when  she  spoke. 

"  You're  not  going  to  arrest  him,  Dick.  He  will 
leave  Richmond  never  to  enter  the  South  again.  I'll 
pledge  my  life  on  his  promise.  His  death  can  do  us 
no  good.  It  can  do  you  no  good  —  I  —  I  —  couldn't 
live  and  know  that  I  had  killed  the  man  I  love  — " 

"  You  haven't  killed  him.  He  has  forfeited  his  life 
a  thousand  times  in  his  work  as  a  spy." 

"  I  sent  for  you.  I  caused  his  betrayal.  I  shall  be 
responsible  if  he  dies  — " 

Again  the  little  head  drooped  in  pitiful  suffering. 
She  lifted  it  at  last  with  a  smile. 

"  Dick,  you're  too  big  and  generous  for  low  re 
venge.  You  hate  this  man.  But  you  love  me.  I 
know  that.  I'm  jproud  and  grateful  for  it.  I  appeal 
to  the  best  that's  in  you.  Save  my  life  and  his  — " 

"  You  couldn't  live  if  he  should  die,  Jennie  ?  "  the 
man  asked  tenderly. 

"  Not  if  he  should  die  in  this  way  — " 

The  Captain  struggled  and  hesitated. 

Again  her  hand  touched  his  arm. 

"  I  ask  the  big  divine  thing  of  you,  Dick?  " 

"  It's  hard.  I've  won  and  you  take  my  triumph 
from  me.  For  two  years  I've  given  body  and  soul  to 
the  task  of  unmasking  this  man." 

437 


THE  VICTIM 


"  I'm  asking  his  life  —  and  mine  — "  the  pleading 
voice  repeated. 

"  I'll  give  him  up  on  one  condition  — " 

"What?" 

The  Captain  held  her  gaze  in  silence  a  moment. 

"  That  you  send  him  back  to  the  North  and  put 
him  out  of  your  life  forever ! " 

Jennie   laughed   softly   through   her  tears. 

"  You  big,  generous,  foolish  boy  —  you  might  have 
left  that  to  me—" 

"  All  right,"  he  hastened  to  agree.  "  I'll  leave 
it  to  you.  Forgive  me.  I  can't  deny  you  any 
thing—" 

"  You're  a  glorious  lover,  Dick ! "  she  cried  ten 
derly.  "  Why  didn't  I  love  you?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  honey,"  he  replied  chokingly.  "  We 
just  love  because  we  must  —  there's  no  rhyme  or  rea 
son  to  it — " 

He  paused  and  laughed. 

"  Well,  it's  all  over  now,  Jennie.  I've  given  him 
back  to  you  —  good-by  — " 

She  grasped  his  hand  and  held  it  firmly. 

"  Don't  you  dare  say  good-by  to  me,  sir  —  you've 
got  to  love  me,  too  —  as  long  as  I  live  —  my  first 
sweetheart  —  brave,  generous,  kind  — " 

She  drew  his  blond  head  low  and  kissed  him. 

He  looked  at  her  through  dimmed  eyes  and  slowly 
said: 

"  That  makes  life  worth  living,  Jennie." 

He  turned  and  quickly  left  the  housfe. 

She  heard  his  low  orders  to  his  men  and  watched 
them  pass  up  the  street  with  their  rifles  on  their  shoul 
ders. 

She  opened  the  door  and  Socola  entered,  his  face 
deathlike  in  its  pallor. 

"  Why  did  he  stay  so  long?  " 
438 


THE  DISCOVERY 


"  He  has  searched  your  room  and  found  your  cipher 
code—" 

"  And  you  have  saved  my  life  ?  " 

"  It  was  I  who  put  it  in  peril  — " 

"  No  —  I  gave  my  life  in  willing  sacrifice  when  the 
war  began — " 

"  You  are  to  leave,"  Jennie  went  on  evenly  — "  leave 
at  once — " 

"Of  course—" 

"  And  give  me  your  solemn  parole  —  never  again 
during  this  war  to  fight  the  South — " 

"  It  is  your  right  to  demand  it.     I  agree." 

She  gently  took  his  hand. 

"  I  know  that  I  can  trust  you  now  — "  She  paused 
and  looked  wistfully  into  his  face.  "  One  last  long 
look  into  your  dear  eyes  — " 

"  Not  the  last  — " 

"One  last  kiss—" 

She  drew  his  lips  down  to  hers. 

"  One  last  moment  in  your  arms."  She  clung  to 
him  desperately  and  freed  herself  with  quick  resolu 
tion. 

"  And  now  you  must  go  —  from  Richmond  —  from 
the  South  and  out  of  my  life  forever — " 

"  You  can't  mean  this !  "  he  protested  bitterly. 

"  I  do,"  was  the  firm  answer.     "  Good-by." 

He  pressed  her  hand  and  shook  his  head, 

"  I  refuse  to  say  it  — " 

"  You  must." 

«No—  " 

"  It  is  the  end  — " 

"  It  is  only  the  beginning." 

With  a  look  of  tenderness  he  left  her  standing  in 
the  doorway,  the  hunger  of  eternity  in  her  brown  eyes, 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

THE  CONSPIRATORS 

The  raid  of  Dahlgren  and  Kilpatrick  had  sent  a 
thrill  of  horror  through  Richmond.  The  people  had 
suddenly  waked  to  the  realization  of  what  it  meant  to 
hold  fifteen  thousand  desperate  prisoners  in  their  city 
with  a  handful  of  soldiers  to  guard  them. 

The  discovery  on  the  young  leader's  body  of  the  re 
markable  papers  of  instructions  to  burn  the  city  and 
murder  the  Confederate  President  and  his  Cabinet 
produced  a  sharp  discussion  between  Jefferson  Davis 
and  his  councilors. 

Not  only  did  the  people  of  Richmond  demand  that 
such  methods  of  warfare  be  met  by  retaliation  of  the 
most  drastic  kind  but  the  Cabinet  now  joined  in  this 
demand.  Hundreds  of  prisoners  had  been  captured 
both  from  Dahlgren's  and  Kilpatrick's  division. 

It  was  urged  on  Davis  with  the  most  dogged  deter 
mination  that  these  prisoners  —  in  view  of  the  charac 
ter  of  their  instructions  to  burn  a  city  crowded  with 
unarmed  men,  women  and  children  and  murder  in  cold 
blood  the  civil  officers  of  the  Confederate  Government 
—  should  be  treated  as  felons  and  executed  by  hang 
ing. 

The  President  had  refused  on  every  occasion  to  lend 
his  power  to  brutal  measures  of  retaliation.  This 
time  his  Cabinet  was  persistent  and  in  dead  earnest  in 
their  purpose  to  force  his  hand. 

Davis  faced  his  angry  council  with  unruffled  spirit. 

"  I  understand  your  feelings,  gentlemen,"  he  said 
440 


THE  CONSPIRATORS 


evenly.  "  You  have  had  a  narrow  escape.  The  South 
does  not  use  such  methods  of  warfare.  Nor  will  I  per 
mit  our  Government  to  fall  to  such  level  by  an  act  of 
retaliation.  The  prisoners  we  hold  are  soldiers  of  the 
enemy's  army.  Their  business  is  to  obey  orders  —  not 
plan  campaigns  — " 

"  We  have  captured  officers  also,"  Benjamin  inter 
rupted. 

"  Subordinate  officers  are  not  morally  responsible 
for  the  plans  of  their  superiors." 

No  argument  could  move  the  Confederate  Chieftain. 
He  was  adamant  to  all  appeals  for  harsh  treatment. 
Even  Lee  had  at  last  found  it  impossible  to  maintain 
discipline  in  his  army  unless  he  prevented  the  review 
of  his  court  martial  by  Davis.  The  President  was 
never  known  to  sign  the  death  warrant  of  a  Confed 
erate  soldier.  Lincoln  was  a  man  of  equally  tender 
heart  and  yet  the  Northern  President  did  sign  the 
death-  warrants  of  more  than  two  hundred  Union*  sol 
diers  during  his  administration. 

The  only  action  Davis  would  permit  was  the  re 
moval  of  the  fifteen  thousand  prisoners  further  south 
to  places  of  safety  where  such  raids  would  be  impossi 
ble.  The  prisons  of  Richmond  were  emptied  and  the 
stockades  at  Salisbury  and  Andersonville  over-crowded 
with  these  men. 

Davis  renewed  his  urgent  appeal  to  the  Federal 
Government  for  the  exchange  of  these  men.  His  re 
quest  was  treated  with  discourtesy  and  steadily  re 
fused.  When  the  hot  climate  of  Georgia  caused  the 
high  death  rate  at  Andersonville  he  released  thousands 
of  these  men  without  exchange  and  notified  the  Wash 
ington  Government  to  send  transportation  for  them  to 
Savannah. 

Lincoln  had  given  Grant  a  free  hand  in  assuming 
the  command  of  all  the  armies  of  the  Union.  But  he 

441 


THE  VICTIM 


watched  his  cruel  policy  of  refusal  to  exchange  prison 
ers  with  increasing  anguish.  In  every  way  possible, 
without  directly  opposing  his  commanding  general,  the 
big-hearted  President  at  Washington  managed  to 
smuggle  Southern  prisoners  back  into  the  South  un 
known  to  Grant  and  take  an  equal  number  of  Union 
soldiers  home. 

A  crowd  of  Southern  boys  from  the  prison  at  El- 
mira,  New  York,  were  announced  to  arrive  in  Rich 
mond  on  the  morning  train  from  Fredericksburg. 
Among  them  Jennie  expected  her  brother  Jimmie  who 
had  been  captured  in  battle  six  months  ago.  She  hur 
ried  to  the  station  to  meet  them. 

A  great  crowd  had  gathered.  A  row  of  coffins  was 
placed  on  the  ground  at  the  end  of  the  long  platform 
awaiting  the  train  going  south.  A  dozen  men  were 
sitting  on  those  rude  caskets  smoking,  talking,  laugh 
ing,  their  feet  drawn  up  tailor-fashion  to  keep  them 
out  of  the  mud. 

With  a  shiver  the  girl  hurried  to  the  other  gate. 

Her  eager  eyes  searched  in  vain  among  the  ragged 
wretches  who  shambled  from  the  cars.  A  man  from 
Baton  Rouge,  whom  she  failed  to  recognize,  lifted  his 
faded  hat  and  handed  her  a  letter. 

She  read  it  through  her  tears  and  hurried  to  the 
Confederate  White  House  to  show  it  to  the  President. 
Davis  scanned  the  scrawl  with  indignant  sjmipathy: 

"  Dear  Little  Sis: 

"  This  is  the  last  message  I  shall  ever  send.  Before  it 
can  reach  you  I  shall  be  dead  —  for  which  I'll  thank  God. 
I'm  sorry  now  I  didn't  take  my  chances  with  the  other  fel 
lows,  bribe  the  guard  and  escape  from  Camp  Douglas  in 
Chicago.  A  lot  of  the  boys  did  it.  Somehow  I  couldn't 
stoop.  Maybe  the  fear  of  the  degrading  punishment  they 
gave  McGoffin,  the  son  of  the  Governor  of  Kentucky,  when 
he  failed,  influenced  me,  weak  and  despondent  as  I  was. 

442 


THE  CONSPIRATORS 


They  hung  him  by  the  thumbs  to  make  him  confess  the 
name  of  his  accomplices.  He  refused  to  speak  and  they 
left  him  hanging  until  the  balls  of  his  thumbs  both  burst 
open  and  he  fainted. 

"  The  last  month  at  Camp  Douglas  was  noted  for  scant 
rations.  Hunger  was  the  prevailing  epidemic.  At  one 
end  of  our  barracks  was  the  kitchen,  and  by  the  door  stood 
a  barrel  into  which  was  thrown  beef  bones  and  slops.  I 
saw  a  starving  boy  fish  out  one  of  these  bones  and  begin  to 
gnaw  it.  A  guard  discovered  him.  He  snatched  the  bone 
from  the  prisoner's  hand,  cocked  his  pistol,  pressed  it  to 
his  head  and  ordered  him  to  his  all-fours  and  made  him 
bark  for  the  bone  he  held  above  him  — 

"  We  expected  better  treatment  when  transferred  to 
Elmira.  But  I've  lost  hope.  I'm  too  weak  to  ever  pull  up 
again.  I've  made  friends  with  a  guard  who  has  given  me 
the  list  of  the  men  who  have  died  here  in  the  five  months 
since  we  came.  In  the  first  four  months  out  of  five  thou 
sand  and  twenty-seven  men  held  here,  one  thousand  three 
hundred  and  eleven  died  —  six  and  one-half  per  cent  a 
month  — " 

Davis  paused  and  shook  his  head  — 

"  The  highest  rate  we  have  ever  known  at  Salisbury 
or  Andersonville  during  those  spring  months  was  three 
per  cent ! " 

He  finished  the  last  line  in  quivering  tones. 

"  There's  not  a  chance  on  earth  that  I'll  live  to  see  you 
again.  See  the  President  and  beg  him  for  God's  sake  to 
save  as  many  of  the  boys  as  he  can.  With  a  heart  full  of 
love. 

"  JlMMIE." 

The  President  took  both  of  Jennie's  hands   in  his. 

u  I  need  not  tell  you,  my  dear,  that  I  have  done  and 
am  doing  my  level  best.  The  policy  of  the  new  Fed 
eral  Commander  is  to  refuse  all  offers  of  exchange. 
You  understand  my  position  ?  " 

443 


THE  VICTIM 


"  Perfectly,"  was  the  sorrowful  answer.  "  I  only 
came  as  a  duty  to  bear  his  dying  message — " 

"  Express  to  your  father  and  mother  my  deepest 
sympathy." 

With  a  gentle  pressure  of  the  Chieftain's  hand  the 
girl  answered: 

"  I  need  not  tell  you  I  appreciate  it  — " 

The  President  watched  her  go  with  a  look  of  help 
less  anguish.  His  troubles  for  the  moment  had  only 
begun.  The  returned  prisoners  had  marched  in  a  body 
to  his  office  to  thank  their  Chief  for  his  sympathy  and 
help  and  asked  him  to  say  something  to  them. 

Jennie  paused  and  stared  in  a  dazed  way  into  the 
poor  shrunken  faces.  When  the  President  appeared 
every  ragged  hat  was  in  the  air  and  they  cheered  with 
all  the  might  of  the  strength  that  was  left  in  them. 
The  girl  burst  into  tears.  These  men,  so  forlorn,  so 
dried  up  with  a  strange,  half-animal,  hunted  look  in 
their  eyes  —  othens  restless  and  wild-looking  —  others 
calmly  vacant  in  their  stare  as  if  they  had  been  dead 
for  years! 

A  poor  mother  was  rushing  in  and  out  among  them 
hunting  for  her  son. 

"  He  was  coming  with  you  boys,  you  know ! "  she 
cried. 

She  stopped  suddenly  and  laughed  at  her  own  anx 
iety  and  confusion. 

"  He's  here  somewhere  —  I  just  can't  find  him  — 
help  me,  men !  " 

She  hadn't  spoken  his  name  in  her  eager  search  for 
his  loved  face.  She  kept  lifting  the  cloth  from  a  bas 
ket  of  provisions  which  she  had  cooked  that  morn 
ing. 

"  I've  got  his  breakfast  here  —  poor  boy  —  I  expect 
he's  hungry." 

She  had  lost  all  consciousness  of  the  crowd  now. 
444 


THE  CONSPIRATORS 


She  was  talking  to  herself,  trying  to  keep  her  cour 
age  up. 

The  President  looked  into  the  emaciated  faces  before 
him  and  lifted  his  long  arm  in  solemn  salutation. 

"  Soldiers  of  the  South: 

"  I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  for  this 
tribute  of  your  loyalty.  You  were  offered  your  free 
dom  in  prison  at  any  moment  if  you  would  take  the  oath 
and  forswear  your  allegiance  to  the  South.  You  de 
liberately  chose  the  living  death  to  the  betrayal  of  your 
faith.  I  stand  with  uncovered  head  before  you.  I  am 
proud  to  be  the  Chief  Executive  of  such  men !  " 

Again  they  cheered. 

The  old  mother  with  her  basket  was  searching  again 
for  her  boy. 

Jennie  slipped  an  arm  gently  around  her  and  led 
her  away. 

On  the  day  Lee  left  Richmond  for  the  front  to  meet 
Grant's  invading  host,  the  Confederate  President  was 
in  agony  over  a  letter  from  General  Winder  portray 
ing  the  want  and  suffering  among  the  prisoners  con 
fined  at  Andersonville. 

"  If  we  could  only  get  them  across  the  Mississippi," 
Davis  cried,  "  where  beef  and  supplies  of  all  kind  are 
abundant  —  but  what  can  we  do  for  them  here?" 

"  Our  men  are  in  the  same  fix,"  Lee  answered 
quickly,  "  except  that  they're  free.  These  sufferings 
are  the  result  of  our  necessity,  not  of  our  policy.  Do 
not  distress  yourself." 

The  South  was  entering  now  the  darkest  hours  of 
her  want.  The  market  price  of  food  was  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  poor  or  even  the  moderately  well-to-do. 
Turkeys  sold  for  $60'  each.  Flour  was  $300  a  barrel, 
corn  meal  $50  a  bushel.  Boots  were  $200  a  pair. 
A  man's  coat  cost  $350  —  his  trousers  $100.  He 

445 


THE  VICTIM 


could  get  along  without  a  vest.  Wood  was  $50  a  cord. 
It  took  $1,800  to  buy  $100  in  gold. 

In  the  midst  of  this  universal  suffering  the  yellow  jour 
nals  of  the  South,  led  by  the  Richmond  Examiner,  made 
the  most  bitter  and  determined  assaults  on  Davis  to  force 
him  to  a  policy  of  retaliation  on  Northern  prisoners. 

"  Hoist  the  black  flag ! "  shrieked  the  Examiner. 
"  Retaliate  on  these  Yankee  prisoners  for  the  starva 
tion  and  abuse  of  our  men  in  the  North  —  a  land  teem 
ing  with  plenty."  The  President  was  held  up  to  the 
scorn  and  curses  of  the  Southern  people  because  with 
quiet  dignity  he  refused  to  lower  the  standard  of  his 
Government  to  a  policy  of  revenge  on  helpless  soldiers 
in  his  power. 

To  a  Committee  of  the  Confederate  Congress  who 
waited  on  him  with  these  insane  demands  he  answered 
with  scorn: 

"  You  dare  ask  me  to  torture  helpless  prisoners  of 
war !  I  will  resign  my  office  at  the  call  of  my  country. 
But  no  people  have  the  right  to  demand  such  deeds  at 
my  hands ! " 

In  answer  to  this  brave,  humane  stand  of  the  South 
ern  President  the  Examiner  had  the  unspeakable  ef 
frontery  to  accuse  him  of  clemency  to  his  captives  that 
he  might  curry  favor  with  the  North  and  shield  him 
self  if  the  South  should  fail. 

No  characteristic  of  Davis  was  more  marked  than 
his  regard  for  the  weak,  the  helpless  and  the  captive. 
His  final  answer  to  his  assailants  was  to  repeat  with 
emphasis  his  orders  to  General  Winder  to  see  to  it  that 
the  same  rations  issued  to  Confederate  soldiers  in  the 
field  should  be  given  to  all  prisoners  of  war,  though 
taken  from  a  starving  army  and  people. 

Enraged  by  the  defeat  of  their  mad  schemes,  the 
conspirators  drew  together  now  to  depose  Davis  and 
set  up  a  military  dictatorship. 


CHAPTER  XL 

IN  SIGHT  OF  VICTORY 

When  Grant  crossed  the  Rapidan  with  his  army 
of  one  hundred  forty-one  thousand  one  hundred  and 
sixty  men  Lee  faced  him  with  sixty-four  thousand. 
The  problem  of  saving  Richmond  from  the  tremendous 
force  under  the  personal  command  of  the  most  success 
ful  general  of  the  North  was  not  the  only  danger  which 
threatened  the  Confederate  Capital.  Butler  was  press 
ing  from  the  Peninsula  with  forty  thousand  men  along 
the  line  of  McClellan's  old  march,  supported  again  by 
the  navy. 

Jefferson  Davis  knew  the  task  before  Lee  to  be  a 
gigantic  one  yet  he  did  not  believe  that  Grant  would 
succeed  in  reaching  Richmond. 

The  moment  the  Federal  general  crossed  the  Rap 
idan  and  threw  his  army  into  the  tangled  forest  of 
the  Wilderness,  Lee  sprang  from  the  jungles  at  his 
throat. 

Battle  followed  battle  in  swift  and  terrible  succes 
sion.  At  Cold  Harbor  thirty  days  later  the  climax 
came.  Grant  lost  ten  thousand  men  in  twenty  min 
utes.  The  Northern  general  had  set  out  to  hammer 
Lee  to  death  by  steady,  remorseless  pounding.  At  the 
end  of  a  month  he  had  lost  more  than  sixty  thousand 
men  and  Lee's  army  was  as  strong  as  when  the  fight 
began. 

Grant's  campaign  to  take  Richmond  was  the  blood 
iest  and  most  tragic  failure  in  the  history  of  war. 
The  North  in  bitter  anguish  demanded  his  removal 

447 


THE  VICTIM 


from  command.  Lincoln  stubbornly  refused  to  inter 
fere  with  his  bulldog  fighter.  He  sent  him  word  to 
hold  on  and  chew  and  choke. 

As  Grant  in  his  whirl  of  blood  approached  the  old 
battle  grounds  of  McClellan,  Davis  rode  out  daily  to 
confer  with  Lee.  He  was  never  more  cheerful  —  never 
surer  of  the  safety  of  his  Capital.  His  faith  in  God 
and  the  certainty  that  he  would  in  the  end  give  victory 
to  a  cause  so  just  and  holy  grew  in  strength  with  the 
report  from  each  glorious  field.  No  doubt  of  the  right 
or  justice  of  his  cause  ever  entered  his  mind.  Day 
and  night  he  repeated  the  lines  of  his  favorite  hymn : 

"  I'll  strengthen  thee,  help  thee  and  cause  thee  to  stand,, 
Upheld  by  my  righteous  omnipotent  hand/' 

Again  and  again  he  said  to  his  wife  half  in  solilo 
quy,  half  in  exalted  prayer: 

"  We  can  conquer  a  peace  against  the  world  in  arms 
and  keep  the  rights  of  freemen  if  we  are  worthy  of  the 
privilege !  " 

The  spirit  which  animated  the  patriotic  soldiers  who 
followed  their  commander  in  this  bloody  campaign  was 
in  every  way  as  high  as  that  which  inspired  their  Pres 
ident. 

Jennie  spent  an  hour  each  day  ministering  to  the 
sick  prisoners  who  had  returned  from  the  North  and 
were  unable  to  go  further  than  Richmond.  It  was 
her  service  of  love  for  Jimmie's  friends  and  comrades. 

A  poor  fellow  was  dying  of  the  want  he  had  endured 
in  prison.  He  lifted  his  dimmed  eyes  to  hers : 

"Will  you  write  to  my  wife  for  me,  Miss?  " 

"Yes  — yes  — I  will." 

"And  give  her  my  love — " 

He  paused  for  breath  and  fumbled  in  his  pocket. 

"  I've  a  letter  from  her  here  —  read  it  before  you 
write.  Our  little  girl  had  malaria.  She  tried  willow 

448 


IN  SIGHT  OF  VICTORY 


tea  and  everything  she  could  think  of  for  the  chills. 
The  doctor  said  nothin'  but  quinine  could  save  her. 
She  couldn't  get  it,  the  blockade  was  too  tight,  and  so 
our  baby  died  —  and  now  I'm  dyin'  and  my  poor 
starvin'  girl  will  have  nothin'  to  comfort  her  —  but  — " 

He  gasped  and  lifted  himself  on  his  elbow. 

"  If  our  folks  can  just  quit  free  men,  it's  all  right. 
It's  all  right!" 

The  women  and  children  of  Richmond  were  suffer 
ing  now  for  food.  The  Thirteenth  Virginia  regiment 
sent  Billy  Barton  into  the  city  with  a  contribution  for 
their  relief. 

Billy  delivered  it  to  Jennie  with  more  than  a  boy's 
pride.  There  was  something  bigger  in  the  quiet  an 
nouncement  he  made. 

"  Here's  one  day's  rations  from  the  regiment,  sis," 
he  said  — "  all  our  flour,  pork,  bacon  and  meal.  The 
boys  are  fasting  to-day.  It's  their  love  offering  to 
those  we've  left  at  home  — " 

Jennie  kissed  him. 

"  It's  beautiful  of  you  and  your  men,  boy.  Give  my 
love  to  them  all  and  tell  them  I'm  proud  to  be  their 
countrywoman  — " 

u  And  they're  proud  of  their  country  and  their  Gen 
eral,  too  —  maybe  you  wouldn't  believe  it  —  but  every 
regiment  in  Lee's  army  has  reenlisted  for  the  war." 

She  seized  Billy's  hand. 

"  Come  with  me  —  I  want  you  to  see  the  President 
and  tell  him  what  your  regiment  has  done.  It'll  help 
him." 

As  they  approached  the  White  House  a  long,  pierc 
ing  scream  came  through  the  open  windows. 

"  What  on  earth  ?  "  Jennie  exclaimed. 

"  An  accident  of  some  kind,"  the  boy  answered, 
seizing  her  arm  and  hurrying  forward.  Every  window 
and  door  of  the  big  lonely  house  set  apart  on  its  hill 
30  449 


THE  VICTIM 


swung  wide  open,  the  lights  streaming  through  them, 
the  wind  blowing  the  curtains  through  the  windows. 
The  lights  blazed  even  in  the  third  story. 

Mrs.  Burton  Harrison,  the  wife  of  the  President's 
Secretary,  met  them  at  the  door,  her  eyes  red  with 
weeping. 

She  pressed  Jennie's  hand. 

"Little  Joe  has  been  killed — " 

"  Mrs.  Davis'  beautiful  boy  —  impossible ! " 

"  He  climbed  over  the  bannisters  and  fell  to  the  brick 
pavement  and  died  a  few  minutes  after  his  mother 
reached  his  side  — " 

The  girl  could  make  no  answer.  She  had  come  on 
a  sudden  impulse  to  cheer  the  lonely  leader  of  her  peo 
ple.  Perhaps  his  need  in  this  dark  hour  had  called 
her.  She  thought  of  Socola's  story  of  his  mother's 
vision  and  wondered  with  a  sudden  pang  of  self-pity 
where  the  man  she  loved  was  to-night. 

This  beautiful  child,  named  in  honor  of  his  favorite 
brother,  was  the  greatest  joy  of  the  badgered  soul  of 
the  Confederate  leader. 

Suddenly  his  white  face  appeared  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs.  A  courier  had  come  from  the  battlefield  with 
an  important  dispatch.  Grant  and  Lee  were  locked 
in  their  death  grapple  in  the  Wilderness.  He 
would  try  even  in  this  solemn  hour  to  do  his  whole 
duty. 

He  passed  the  sympathetic  group  murmuring  a  sen 
tence  whose  pathos  brought  the  tears  again  to  Jen 
nie's  eyes. 

"  Not  my  will,  O  Lord,  but  thine  —  thine  —  thine !  " 

He  took  the  dispatch  from  the  courier's  hand  and 
held  it  open  for  some  time,  staring  at  it  with  fixed 
gaze. 

He  searched  the  courier's  face  and  asked  pathet 
ically  : 

450 


IN  SIGHT  OF  VICTORY 


"  Will  you  tell  me,  my  friend,  what  is  in  it  —  I  —  I 

—  cannot  read  — " 

The  courier  read  the  message  in  low  tones.  A  great 
battle  was  joined.  The  fate  of  a  nation  hung  on  its 
issue.  The  stricken  man  drew  from  his  pocktt  a  tiny 
gold  pencil  and  tried  to  write  an  answer  —  stopped 
suddenly  and  pressed  his  hand  on  his  heart. 

Billy  sprang  to  his  side  and  seized  the  dispatch : 

"  I'll  take  the  message  to  General  Cooper  —  Mr. 
President  — " 

The  white  face  turned  to  the  young  soldier  and 
looked  at  him  pitifully: 

"  Thank  you,  my  son  —  thank  you  —  it  is  best  — 
I  must  have  this  hour  with  our  little  boy  —  leave  me 
with  my  dead !  " 

Jennie  stayed  to  help  the  stricken  home. 

She  took  little  Jeff  in  her  arms  to  rock  him  to  sleep. 
He  drew  her  head  down  and  whispered: 

"  Miss  Jennie,  I  got  to  Joe  first  after  he  fell.  I 
knelt  down  beside  him  and  said  all  the  prayers  I  know 

—  but  God  wouldn't  wake  him !  " 

The  girl  drew  the  child  close  and  kissed  the  red 
dened  eyes.  Over  her  head  beat  the  steady  tramp  of 
the  father's  feet,  back  and  forth,  back  and  forth,  a 
wounded  lion  in  his  cage.  The  windows  and  doors 
were  still  wide  open,  the  curtains  waving  wan  and 
ghostlike  from  their  hangings. 

Two  days  later  she  followed  the  funeral  procession 
to  the  cemetery  —  thousands  of  children,  each  child 
with  a  green  bough  or  bunch  of  flowers  to  pile  on  the 
red  mound. 

A  beautiful  girl  pushed  her  way  to  Jennie's  side  and 
lifted  a  handful  of  snowdrops. 

"  Please  put  these  on  little  Joe,"  she  said  wistfully. 
"  I  knew  him  so  well." 

With  a  sob  the  child  turned  and  fled.  Jennie  never 
451 


THE  VICTIM 


learned  her  name.  She  turned  to  the  grave  again,  her 
gaze  fixed  on  the  striking  figure  of  the  grief-stricken 
father,  bare-headed,  straight  as  an  arrow,  his  fine  face 
silhouetted  against  the  shining  Southern  sky.  The 
mother  stood  back  amid  the  shadows,  in  her  somber 
wrappings,  her  tall  figure  drooped  in  pitiful  grief. 

The  leader  turned  quickly  from  his  personal  sorrows 
tt>  those  of  his  country,  his  indomitable  courage  rising 
to  greater  heights  as  dangers  thickened. 

Two  weeks  later  General  Sheridan  attempted  what 
Dahlgren  tried  and  failed  to  accomplish. 

The  President  hurried  from  his  office  to  his  home, 
seized  his  pistols,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  out  to 
join  Generals  Gracie  and  Ransom  who  were  placing 
their  skeleton  brigades  to  repulse  the  attack. 

The  crack  of  rifles  could  be  distinctly  heard  from 
the  Executive  Mansion. 

The  mother  called  her  children  to  prayers.  As  lit 
tle  Jeff  knelt  he  raised  his  chubby  face  and  said  with 
solemn  earnestness: 

"  You  had  better  have  my  pony  saddled,  and  let  me 
go  out  and  help  father  —  we  can  pray  afterwards ! " 

In  driving  Sheridan's  cavalry  back  from  Richmond 
General  Stuart  fell  at  Yellow  Tavern  mortally  wounded 
—  the  bravest  of  the  bra  vie  —  a  full  Major  General 
who  had  won  immortal  fame  at  thirty-one  years  of  age. 
His  beautiful  wife,  the  daughter  of  a  Union  General, 
Philip  St.  George  Cooke,  could  not  reach  his  bedside 
before  he  breathed  his  last. 

The  President  reverently  entered  the  death  chamber 
and  stood  for  fifteen  minutes  holding  the  hand  of  his 
brilliant  young  commander. 

They  told  him  that  he  could  not  live  to  see  his  wife. 

"  I  should  have  liked  to  have  seen  her,"  he  said 
gently,  "  but  God's  will  be  done." 

The  doctor  felt  his  fast  fading  pulse. 
452 


IN  SIGHT  OF  VICTORY 


"  Doctor,  I  suppose  I'm  going  fast  now,"  Stuart 
said.  "  It  will  soon  be  over.  I  hope  I  have  fulfilled 
my  duty  to  my  country  and  my  God — " 

"  Your  end  is  near,  General  Stuart,"  the  doctor  re 
sponded  softly. 

"  All  right,"  was  the  even  answer.  "  I'll  end  my 
little  affairs  down  here.  To  Mrs.  Robert  E.  Lee  I 
give  my  gold  spurs,  in  eternal  memory  of  the  love  I 
bear  my  glorious  Chief.  To  my  staff,  my  horses — " 

He  paused  and  turned  to  the  heavier  officer  who 
stood  with  bowed  head. 

"  You  take  the  larger  one  —  he'll  carry  you  better, 
To  my  son  I  leave  my  sword  — " 

He  was  silent  a  moment  and  then  said  with  an  ef 
fort: 

"  Now  I  want  you  to  sing  for  me  the  song  I  love 
best: 

' '  Rock  of  ages  cleft  for  me 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee  '  " — 

With  his  fast- failing  breath  he  joined  in  the  song? 

turned  and  murmured: 

"  I'm  going  fast  now  —  God's  will  be  done  — " 

So  passed  the  greatest  cavalry  leader  our  country 

has  produced  —  a  man  whose  joyous  life  was  one  long 

feast  of  good  will  toward  his  fellow  men. 

In  spite  of  all  losses,  in  spite  of  four  years  of  fright 
ful  carnage,  in  spite  of  the  loss  of  the  Mississippi,  the 
States  of  Louisiana  and  Tennessee,  the  Confederacy 
was  in  sight  of  victory. 

Lee  had  baffled  Grant's  great  army  at  every  turn 
and  now  held  him  securely  at  bay  before  Petersburg. 
The  North  was  mortally  tired  of  the  bloody  struggle. 
The  party  which  demanded  peace  was  greater  than  any 

453 


THE  VICTIM 


political  division  —  it  included  thousands  of  the  best 
men  in  the  party  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

The  nomination  of  General  McGlellan  for  President 
on  a  platform  declaring  the  war  a  failure  and  demand 
ing  that  it  end  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  Jefferson 
Davis  knew  this  from  inside  information  his  friends 
Lad  sent  from  every  section  of  the  North. 

The  Confederacy  had  only  to  hold  its  lines  intact 
until  the  first  Monday  in  November"  and  the  Northern 
voters  would  end  the  war. 

The  one  point  of  mortal  danger  to  the  South  lay  in 
the  mental  structure  of  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  the  man 
whom  Davis  had  been  persuaded,  against  his  better 
judgment,  to  appoint  to  the  command  of  one  of  the 
greatest  armies  the  Confederacy  had  ever  put  into  the 
field. 

Johnston  had  been  sent  to  Dalton,  Georgia,  and 
placed  in  command  of  sixty-eight  thousand  picked  Con 
federate  soldiers  with  which  to  attack  and  drive  Sher 
man  out  of  the  lower  South. 

Lee  with  sixty-four  thousand  had  defeated  Grant's 
one  hundred  and  forty  thousand.  Richmond  was  safe, 
and  the  North  was  besieging  Washington  with  an  army 
of  heart-broken  mothers  and  fathers  who  demanded 
Grant's  removal. 

No  effort  was  spared  by  Davis  to  enable  Johnston 
to  stay  Sherman's  advance  and  assume  the  offensive. 
The  whole  military  strength  of  the  South  and  West 
was  pressed  forward  to  him.  His  commissary  and 
ordnance  departments  were  the  best  in  the  Confed 
eracy.  His  troops  were  eager  to  advance  and  retrieve 
the  disaster  at  Missionary  Ridge  —  the  first  and  only 
case  of  panic  and  cowardice  that  had  marred  the  bril 
liant  record  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  position  of  Johnston's  army  was  one  of  com 
manding  strength.  Long  mountain  ranges,  with  few 

4-54 


IN  SIGHT  OF  VICTORY 


and  difficult  passes,  made  it  next  to  impossible  for  Sher 
man  to  turn  his  flank  or  dislodge  him  by  direct  attack. 
Sherman  depended  for  his  supplies  on  a  single  line  of 
railroad  from  Nashville. 

Davis  confidently  believed  that  Johnston  could  crush 
Sherman  in  the  first  pitched  battle  and  render  his  po 
sition  untenable. 

And  then  began  the  most  remarkable  series  of  re 
treats  recorded  in  the  history  of  war. 

Without  a  blow  and  without  waiting  for  an  attack, 
Johnston  suddenly  withdrew  from  his  trenches  at  Dai- 
ton  and  ran  eighteen  miles  into  the  interior  of  Georgia. 
He  stopped  at  Resaca  in  a  strong  position  on  a  pen 
insula  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  rivers  fortified 
by  rifle  pits  and  earthworks. 

He  gave  this  up  and  ran  thirteen  miles  further  into 
Georgia  to  Adairsville.  Not  liking  the  looks  of 
Adairsville  he  struck  camp  and  ran  to  Cassville  seven 
teen  miles. 

He  then  declared  he  would  fight  Sherman  at  Kings 
ton.  Sherman  failing  to  divide  his  army,  as  Johnston 
had  supposed  he  would,  he  changed  his  mind  and  ran 
beyond  Etowah.  He  next  retreated  to  Alatoona. 
Here  Sherman  spread  out  his  army,  threatened 
Marietta  and  Johnston  ran  again. 

On  July  fifth  he  ran  from  Kenesaw  Mountain  and 
took  refuge  behind  the  Chattahoochee  River. 

From  Dalton  to  Resaca,  from  Resaca  to  Adairsville, 
from  Adairsville  to  Alatoona  (involving  the  loss  of 
Kingston  and  Rome  with  their  mills,  foundries  and 
military  stores),  from  Alatoona  to  Kenesaw,  from 
Kenesaw  to  the  Chattahoochee  and  then  tumbled  into 
the  trenches  before  Atlanta. 

Retreat  had  followed  retreat  for  two  months  and  a 
half  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  gates  of 
Atlanta  without  a  single  pitched  battle! 

455 


THE  VICTIM 


Davis  watched  this  tragedy  unfold  its  appalling 
scenes  with  increasing  bitterness,  disappointment  and 
alarm. 

The  demand  for  Johnston's  removal  was  overwhelm 
ing  in  the  State  of  Georgia  whose  gate  city  was  now 
besieged  by  Sherman.  The  people  of  the  whole  South 
had  watched  this  retreat  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
into  their  territory  with  sickening  hearts. 

Again  Johnston  began  his  nagging  and  complain 
ing  to  the  Richmond  authorities.  His  most  important 
message  was  an  accusation  of  disloyalty  against  Jo 
seph  E.  Brown.  He  telegraphed  in  blunt  plain  Eng 
lish: 

"  The  Governor  of  Georgia  refuses  me  provisions 
and  the  use  of  his  roads." 

Brown  answered: 

"  The  roads  are  open  to  him  and  in  capital  condi 
tion.  I  have  furnished  him  abundantly  with  provi 
sions." 

The  President  of  the  Confederacy  now  faced  the 
most  dangerous  and  tragic  decision  of  his  entire  ad 
ministration.  The  removal  of  Johnston  from  his  com 
mand  before  Sherman's  victorious  army  in  the  heart 
of  Georgia  could  be  justified  only  on  the  grounds  of 
the  sternest  necessity.  The  Commanding  General  not 
only  had  the  backing  of  his  powerful  junta  in  Rich 
mond  who  were  now  busy  with  their  conspiracy  to  es 
tablish  a  dictatorship  and  oust  the  President  from  his 
office,  but  he  was  immensely  popular  with  his  army. 
His  care  for  his  soldiers  was  fatherly.  His  painful 
efforts  to  save  their  lives,  even  at  the  cost  of  the  loss 
of  his  country,  were  duly  appreciated  by  the  leaders 
of  opinion  in  the  army.  Johnston  had  the  power  to 
draw  and  hold  the  good  will  of  the  men  who  surrounded 
him.  He  had  the  power,  too,  of  infecting  his  men 
with  his  likes  and  dislikes.  His  hatred  of  Davis  had 

456 


IN  SIGHT  OF  VICTORY 


been  for  three  years  the  one  mania  of  his  sulking  mind. 

To  remove  him  from  command  in  such  a  crisis  was 
to  challenge  a  mutiny  in  his  army  which  might  lead  to 
serious  results.  Yet  if  he  should  continue  to  retreat, 
and  back  out  of  Atlanta  without  a  fight  as  he  had 
backed  out  of  every  position  for  the  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  Dalton,  the  results  would  be  still  more 
appalling. 

The  loss  of  Atlanta  at  this  moment  meant  the  defeat 
of  the  peace  party  of  the  North,  and  the  reelection  of 
Lincoln.  If  Lincoln  should  be  elected  it  was  incon 
ceivable  that  the  South  could  continue  the  unequal 
struggle  for  four  years  more. 

If  Johnston  would  only  hold  his  trenches  and  save 
Atlanta  for  a  few  days  the  South  would  win.  Lee 
could  hold  Grant  indefinitely. 

The  thought  which  appalled  Davis  was  the  suspi 
cion  which  now  amounted  to  a  practical  certainty  that 
his  retreating  General  would  evacuate  Atlanta  as  he 
had  threatened  to  abandon  Richmond  when  confronted 
by  McClellan,  and  had  abandoned  Vicksburg  without 
a  blow. 

He  must  know  this  with  absolute  certainty  before 
yielding  to  the  demand  for  his  removal.  That  no  pos 
sible  mistake  could  be  made,  he  dispatched  his  Chief  of 
Staff,  General  Braxton  Bragg,  to  Atlanta  for  confer 
ence  with  Johnston  and  make  a  personal  report. 

Bragg  reported  that  Johnston  was  arranging  to 
abandon  Atlanta  without  a  battle  and  the  President 
promptly  removed  him  from  command  and  appointed 
Hood  in  his  place. 

When  Hood  assumed  command  of  the  disgruntled 
army,  it  was  too  late  to  save  Atlanta.  Had  Johnston 
delivered  battle  with  his  full  force  at  Dalton,  Sherman 
might  have  been  crushed  as  Rosecrans  was  over 
whelmed  at  Chickamauga. 

457 


THE  VICTIM 


Hood's  army  was  driven  back  into  their  trenches. 
Sherman  threw  his  hosts  under  cover  of  night  on  a 
wide  flanking  movement  and  Atlanta  fell. 

Under  the  mighty  impulse  of  this  news  Lincoln  was 
reflected,  the  peace  party  of  the  North  defeated  and 
the  doom  of  the  Confederacy  sealed. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

THE  FALL  OF  RICHMOND 

The  conspirators  who  had  complained  most  bitterly 
of  Davis  for  the  appointment  of  Lee  to  the  command 
of  the  army  before  Richmond  when  McClellan  was 
thundering  at  its  gates,  now  succeeded  in  passing 
through  the  Confederate  Congress  a  bill  to  create  a 
military  dictatorship  which  they  offered  to  the  man 
for  whose  promotion  they  had  condemned  the  Presi 
dent. 

Lee  treated  this  attempt  to  strike  the  Confederate 
Chieftain  over  his  head  with  the  contempt  it  deserved. 
Davis  laughed  at  his  enemies  by  the  most  complete  ac 
ceptance  of  their  plans. 

His  answer  to  Senator  Barton's  committee  was  ex 
plicit. 

"  I  have  absolute  confidence  in  General  Lee's  pa 
triotism  and  military  genius.  I  will  gladly  cooperate 
with  Congress  in  any  plan  to  place  him  in  supreme  com 
mand." 

Lee  refused  to  accept  the  responsibility  except  with 
the  advice  and  direction  of  the  President,  and  the  con 
spiracy  ended  in  a  fiasco. 

From  the  moment  Sherman's  army  pierced  the  heart 
of  the  South  the  Confederate  President  saw  with  clear 
vision  that  the  cause  of  Southern  independence  was 
lost.  Lee's  army  must  slowly  starve.  His  one  su 
preme  purpose  now  was  to  fight  to  the  last  ditch  for 
better  terms  than  unconditional  surrender  which 
would  mean  the  loss  of  billions  in  property  and  the  pos 
sible  enfranchisement  of  a  million  slaves. 

459 


THE  VICTIM 


That  Lincoln  was  intensely  anxious  to  stop  the 
shedding  of  blood  he  knew  from  more  than  one  authen 
tic  source.  It  was  rumored  that  the  Northern  Presi 
dent  was  willing  to  consider  compensation  for  the 
slaves.  An  army  of  a  hundred  thousand  determined 
Southern  soldiers  led  by  an  indomitable  general  could 
fight  indefinitely.  That  it  was  of  the  utmost  impor 
tance  to  the  life  of  the  South  to  secure  a  surrender 
which  would  forbid  the  enfranchisement  of  the  slaves 
and  the  degradation  of  an  electorate  to  their  level,  Da 
vis  saw  with  clear  vision.  From  the  North  now  came 
overtures  of  peace.  Francis  P.  Blair  asked  for  per 
mission  to  visit  Richmond. 

Blair  proposed  to  end  the  war  by  uniting  the  armies 
of  the  North  and  South  for  an  advance  on  Mexico  to 
maintain  the  Monroe  Doctrine  against  the  new  Em 
peror  whom  Europe  had  set  upon  a  throne  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere. 

The  Confederate  President  received  his  proposals 
with  courtesy. 

"  I  have  tried  in  vain,  Mr.  Blair,"  he  said  gravely, 
"  to  open  negotiations  with  Washington.  How  can 
the  first  step  be  taken?" 

"  Mr.  Lincoln,  I  am  sure,  will  receive  commissioners 
—  though  he  would  give  me  no  assurance  on  that  point. 
We  must  stop  this  deluge  of  blood.  I  cherish  the  hope 
that  the  pride  and  honor  of  the  Southern  States  will 
suffer  no  shock  in  the  adjustment." 

The  result  of  this  meeting  was  the  appointment  by 
Davis  of  three  Commissioners  to  meet  the  representa 
tives  of  the  United  States.  Alexander  H.  Stephens* 
R.  M.  T.  Hunter  and  Judge  John  A.  Campbell  were 
sent  to  this  important  conference.  For  some  unknown 
reason  they  were  halted  at  Fortress  Monroe  and  not 
allowed  to  proceed  to  Washington.  A  change  had 
been  suddenly  produced  in  the  attitude  of  the  National 

460 


THE  FALL  OF  RICHMOND 

Government.  Whether  it  was  due  to  the  talk  of  the 
men  in  Richmond  who  were  trying  to  depose  Davis  or 
whether  it  was  due  to  the  fall  of  Fort  Fisher  and  the 
closing  of  the  port  of  Wilmington,  the  last  artery 
which  connected  the  Confederacy  with  the  outside 
world,  could  not  be  known. 

The  Confederate  Commissioners  were  met  by  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  himself  and  his  Secretary  of  State,  William 
H.  Seward,  in  Hampton  Roads.  The  National  Gov 
ernment  demanded  in  effect,  unconditional  surrender. 

Davis  used  the  indignant  surprise  with  which  this 
startling  announcement  was  received  in  Richmond  and 
the  South  to  rouse  the  people  to  a  last  desperate  effort 
to  save  the  country  from  the  deluge  which  the  Radical 
wing  of  the  Northern  Congress  had  now  threatened  — 
the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  the  whites  and  the 
enfranchisement  of  the  negro  race.  In  his  judgment 
this  could  only  be  done  by  forcing  the  National  Gov 
ernment  through  a  prolongation  of  the  war  to  pledge 
the  South  some  measure  of  protection  before  they 
should  lay  down  their  arms. 

Mass  meetings  were  held  and  the  people  called  to 
defend  their  cause  with  their  last  drop  of  blood.  The 
President  made  a  speech  that  night  to  a  crowd  in  the 
Metropolitan  Hall  'on  Franklin  Street  in  Richmond 
which  swept  them  into  a  frenzy  of  patriotic  passion. 
Even  his  bitterest  enemy,  the  editor  of  the  Examiner, 
was  spellbound  by  his  eloquence. 

When  he  first  appeared  on  the  speakers'  stand  and 
lifted  his  tall  thin  figure,  gazing  over  the  crowd  with 
glittering  eye,  a  tremendous  cheer  swept  the  assembly. 
In  that  moment  he  was  the  incarnate  Soul  of  the  South. 
The  Chieftain  of  the  men  who  wore  the  gray  in 
this  hour  of  solemn  trial,  stood  before  them  with  coun 
tenance  like  the  lightning.  Cheer  on  cheer  rose  and 
fell  with  throbbing  passion. 

461 


THE  VICTIM 


A  smile  of  strange  prophetic  sweetness  lighted  his 
pale  haggard  face.  The  ovation  he  received  was  the 
sure  promise  to  his  tired  soul  that  when  the  passions 
and  prejudices,  the  agony  and  madness  of  war  had 
passed  the  people  would  understand  all  he  had  tried 
to  do  in  their  service.  In  that  moment  of  divine  illu 
mination  he  saw  his  place  in  the  hearts  of  his  country 
men  and  was  content. 

He  spoke  with  even  restrained  flow  of  words,  with  a 
mastery  of  himself  and  his  audience  that  is  the  mark 
of  the  orator  of  the  highest  genius.  His  gestures 
were  few.  His  low,  vibrant,  musical  voice  found  the 
heart  of  his  farthest  listener.  He  swayed  them  with 
indescribable  passion. 

Into  the  faces  of  the  foe  who  had  demanded  uncon 
ditional  surrender  he  hurled  the  defiance  of  an  uncon- 
quered  and  unconquerable  soul.  He  closed  with  an 
historical  illustration  which  lifted  his  audience  to  the 
highest  reach  of  emotion.  Kossuth  had  abandoned 
Hungary  with  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  men  in  the 
field.  The  friends  of  liberty  had  never  forgiven  nor 
could  forgive  this  betrayal. 

"  What  shall  we  say,"  he  cried,  "  of  the  disgrace  be 
neath  which  we  should  be  buried  if  we  surrender  with 
an  army  in  the  field  more  numerous  than  that  with 
which  Napoleon  achieved  the  glory  of  France,  an  army 
standing  among  its  homesteads,  an  army  in  which  each 
individual  is  superior  in  warlike  quality  to  the  individ 
ual  who  opposes  him !  " 

When  the  tumult  and  applause  had  died  away  did 
he  realize  in  the  secret  places  of  his  heart  that  the 
spirit  of  the  South  had  been  broken  by  the  terrible 
experiences  of  four  years  of  blood  and  fire  and  death? 
His  iron  will  gave  no  sign.  To  him  the  manhood  of 
the  Southern  soldier  was  unconquerable,  his  courage 
dauntless  forever. 

462 


THE  FALL  OF  RICHMOND 

Six  months  after  Sherman's  sword  had  pierced  the 
heart  of  the  South  from  Atlanta,  Lee's  army  in  the 
trenches  before  Petersburg  had  reached  the  end  of 
their  endurance.  Lee  wired  Davis  that  his  thin  line 
could  hold  back  Grant's  hosts  but  a  few  days  and  that 
Richmond  must  fall.  His  men  were  living  on  parched 
corn. 

The  President  hurried  to  the  White  House  and 
slipped  his  arm  around  his  wife. 

"  You  must  leave  the  city,  my  dear." 

"  Please  let  me  stay  with  you,"  she  pleaded. 

"  Impossible,"  he  answered  firmly.  "  My  headquar 
ters  must  be  in  the  saddle.  Your  presence  here  could 
only  grieve  and  distress  me.  You  can  take  care  of 
our  babies.  I  know  you  wish  to  help  and  comfort  me. 
You  can  do  this  in  but  one  way  —  go  and  take  the 
children  to  a  place  of  safety  — " 

He  paused,  overcome  with  emotion. 

"  If  I  live,"  he  continued  slowly,  "  you  can  come  to 
me  when  the  struggle  is  over,  but  I  do  not  expect  to 
survive  the  destruction  of  our  liberties." 

He  drew  his  small  hoard  of  gold  from  his  pocket,  re 
moved  a  five-dollar  piece  for  himself,  and  gave  it  all 
to  his  wife  together  with  the  Confederate  money  he  had 
on  hand. 

"  You  must  take  only  your  clothing,"  he  said  after 
a  moment's  silence.  "  The  flour  and  supplies  in  your 
pantry  must  be  left.  The  people  are  in  want." 

He  had  arranged  for  his  family  to  settle  in  North 
Carolina.  The  day  before  his  wife  left,  he  gave  her 
a  pistol  and  taught  her  trembling  hands  to  load,  aim 
and  fire  it. 

"  The  danger  will  be,"  he  warned,  "  that  you  may 
fall  into  the  hands  of  lawless  bands  of  deserters  from 
both  armies  who  are  even  now  pillaging  and  burning. 
You  can  at  least,  if  you  must,  force  your  assailants  to 

463 


THE  VICTIM 


kill  you.  If  you  cannot  remain  undisturbed  in  your 
own  land  make  for  the  coast  of  Florida  and  take  a 
ship  for  a  foreign  country." 

Their  hearts  dumb  with  despair,  his  wife  and  chil 
dren  boarded  the  train  —  or  the  thing  that  once  had 
been  a  train  —  the  roof  of  the  cars  leaked  and  the  en 
gine  wheezed  and  moved  with  great  distress. 

The  stern  face  of  the  Southern  leader  was  set  in  his 
hour  of  trial.  He  felt  that  he  might  never  again  look 
on  the  faces  of  those  he  loved.  His  little  girl  clung 
convulsively  to  his  neck  in  agonizing  prayer  that  she 
might  stay.  The  boy  begged  and  pleaded  with  tears 
raining  down  his  chubby  face. 

Just  outside  of  Richmond  the  engine  broke  down 
and  the  heartsick  family  sat  in  the  dismal  day-coach 
all  night.  Sleepers  had  not  been  invented.  They 
were  twelve  hours  getting  to  Danville  —  a  week  on 
the  way  to  Charlotte. 

The  reign  of  terror  had  already  begun. 

The  President's  wife  avoided  seeing  people  lest  they 
should  be  compromised  when  the  invading  army  should 
sweep  over  the  State. 

They  found  everything  packed  up  in  the  house  that 
had  been  rented,  but  Weill,  the  big-hearted  Jew  who 
was  the  agent,  sent  their  meals  from  his  house  for  a 
week,  refusing  every  suggestion  of  pay.  He  offered 
his  own  purse  or  any  other  service  he  could  render. 

When  Burton  Harrison  had  seen  them  safely  estab 
lished  in  Charlotte  he  returned  at  once  to  his  duties 
with  the  President  in  Richmond. 

On  the  beautiful  Sunday  morning  of  April  2,  1865, 
a  messenger  hurriedly  entered  St.  Paul's  Church, 
walked  to  the  President's  pew  and  handed  him  a  slip 
of  paper.  He  rose  and  quietly  left. 

Not  a  rumor  had  reached  the  city  of  Lee's  broken 
lines.  In  fact  a  false  rumor  had  been  published  of  a 

464 


THE  FALL  OF  RICHMOND 

great  victory  which  his   starving   army  had   achieved 
the  day  before. 

The  report  of  the  evacuation  of  Richmond  fell  on 
incredulous  ears.  The  streets  were  unusually  quiet. 
Beyond  the  James  the  fresh  green  of  the  spring 
clothed  the  fields  in  radiant  beauty.  The  rumble  of 
no  artillery  disturbed  the  quiet.  Scarcely  a  vehicle 
of  any  kind  could  be  seen.  The  church  bells  were  still 
ringing  their  call  to  the  house  of  God. 

The  straight  military  figure  entered  the  Executive 
office.  A  wagon  dashed  down  Main  Street  and  backed 
up  in  front  of  the  Custom  House  door.  Boxes  were 
hurried  from  the  President's  office  and  loaded  into  it. 

A  low  hum  and  clatter  began  to  rise  from  the  streets. 
The  news  of  disaster  and  evacuation  spread  like  light 
ning  and  disorder  grew.  The  streets  were  crowded 
with  fugitives  making  their  way  to  the  depot  —  pale 
women  with  disheveled  hair  and  tear-stained  faces 
leading  barefooted  children  who  were  crying  in  vague 
terror  of  something  they  could  not  understand.  Wag 
ons  were  backed  to  the  doors  of  every  department  of 
the  Confederate  Government.  As  fast  as  they  could 
be  loaded  they  were  driven  to  the  Danville  depot. 

All  was  confusion  and  turmoil.  Important  officers 
were  not  to  be  seen  and  when  they  were  found  would 
answer  no  questions.  Here  and  there  groups  of  mean- 
visaged  loafers  began  to  gather  with  ominous  looks 
toward  the  houses  of  the  better  class. 

The  halls  of  the  silent  Capitol  building  were  de 
serted  —  a  single  footfall  echoed  with  hollow  sound. 

The  Municipal  Council  gathered  in  a  dingy  little 
room  to  consider  the  surrender  of  the  city.  Mayor 
Mayo  dashed  in  and  out  with  the  latest  information 
he  could  get  from  the  War  Department.  He  was 
slightly  incoherent  in  his  excitement,  but  he  was  full 
•af  pluck  and  chewed  tobacco  defiantly.  He  announced 
31  465 


THE  VICTIM 


that  the  last  hope  was  gone  and  that  he  would  main 
tain  order  with  two  regiments  of  militia. 

He  gave  orders  to  destroy  every  drop  of  liquor  in 
the  stores,  saloons  and  warehouses  and  establish  a 
patrol. 

The  militia  slipped  through  the  fingers  of  their  offi 
cers  and  in  a  few  hours  the  city  was  without  a  govern 
ment.  Disorder,  pillage,  shouts,  revelry  and  con 
fusion  were  the  order  of  the  night.  Black  masses  of 
men  swayed  and  surged  through  the  dimly-lighted 
streets,  smashing  into  stores  and  warehouses  at  will. 
Some  of  them  were  carrying  out  the  Mayor's  orders 
to  destroy  the  liquor.  Others  decided  that  the  best 
way  to  destroy  it  was  to  drink  it.  The  gutters  ran 
with  liquor  and  the  fumes  filled  the  air. 

To  the  rear  guard  of  Lee's  army  under  Ewell  was 
left  the  task  of  blowing  up  the  vessels  in  the  James, 
and  destroying  the  bridges  across  the  river.  The 
thunder  of  exploding  mines  and  torpedoes  now  shook 
the  earth.  The  ships  were  blown  to  atoms  and  the 
wharves  fired. 

In  vain  the  Mayor  protested  against  the  firing  of 
the  great  warehouses.  Orders  were  orders,  and  the 
soldiers  obeyed.  The  warehouses  were  fired,  the 
sparks  leaped  to  the  surrounding  buildings  and  the 
city  was  in  flames. 

As  day  dawned  a  black  pall  of  smoke  obscured  the 
heavens.  The  sun's  rays  lighted  the  banks  of  rolling 
smoke  with  lurid  glare.  The  roar  of  the  conflagration 
now  drowned  all  other  sounds. 

The  upper  part  of  Main  Street  was  choked  with 
pillagers  —  men  with  drays,  some  with  bags,  some  roll 
ing  their  stolen  barrels  painfully  up  the  hills. 

A  small  squadron  of  Federal  cavalry  rode  calmly 
into  the  wild  scene.  General  Weitzel,  in  command  of 
the  two  divisions  of  Grant's  army  on  the  north  side, 

466 


THE  FALL  OF  RICHMOND 

had  sent  in  forty  Massachusetts  troopers  to  investi 
gate  conditions. 

At  the  corner  of  Eleventh  Street  they  broke  into  a 
trot  for  the  Square  and  planted  their  guidons  on  the 
Capitol  of  the  Confederacy. 

Long  before  this  advance  guard  could  be  seen  in 
the  distance  the  old  flag  of  the  Union  had  been  flung 
from  the  top  of  the  house  on  Church  Hill.  Foreseeing 
the  fall  of  the  city  Miss  Van  Lew  had  sent  to  the  Fed 
eral  Commander  for  a  flag.  Through  his  scouts  he 
had  sent  it.  As  Weitzel's  two  grand  divisions  swung 
into  Main  Street  this  piece  of  bunting  eighteen  feet  long 
and  nine  feet  wide  waved  from  the  Van  Lew  mansion  on 
the  hill  above  them. 

Stretching  from  the  Exchange  Hotel  to  the  slopes 
of  Church  Hill,  down  the  hill,  through  the  valley,  and 
up  the  ascent  swept  this  gorgeous  array  of  the  trium 
phant  army,  its  bayonets  gleaming  in  the  sunlight, 
every  standard,  battle  flag  and  guidon  streaming  in 
the  sky,  every  band  playing,  swords  flashing,  and 
shout  after  shout  rolling  from  end  to  end  of  the  line. 

To  the  roar  of  the  flames,  the  throb  of  drum,  the 
scream  of  fife,  the  crash  of  martial  music,  and  the 
shouts  of  marching  hosts,  was  added  now  the  deep 
thunder  of  exploding  shells  in  the  burning  arsenals. 

A  regiment  of  negro  cavalry  swept  by  the  Exchange 
Hotel  and  as  they  turned  the  corner  drew  their  sabers 
with  a  savage  shout. 

An  old  Virginian  with  white  locks  standing  in  the 
doorway  of  the  hotel  gazed  on  these  negro  troops  a 
moment,  threw  his  hands  on  high,  and  solemnly  cried: 

"  Blow,  Gabriel !  Blow  your  trumpet  —  for  God's 
sake  blow ! " 

For  hours  the  fire  raged  unchecked  —  burned  until 
the  entire  business  section  of  the  city  lay  a  smoldering 
heap  of  ashes.  Crowds  of  men,  women  and  children 

467 


THE  VICTIM 


crowded  the  Capitol  Square  fighting  with  smoke  and 
flying  cinders  for  a  breath  of  fresh  air.  Piles  of  fur 
niture  lay  heaped  on  its  greensward.  Terror-stricken, 
weeping  women  had  dragged  it  from  their  homes.  In 
improvised  tents  made  of  broken  tables  and  chairs  cov 
ered  with  sheets  and  bedding  hundreds  of  homeless 
women  and  children  huddled. 

As  night  fell  the  pitiful  reaction  came  from  the  tur 
moil  and  excitement  of  the  day.  The  quiet  of  a  great 
desolation  brooded  over  the  smoking  ruins. 

In  the  rich  and  powerful  North  millions  were  mad 
with  joy.  In  New  York  twenty  thousand  people  gath 
ered  in  Union  Square  and  sang  the  Doxology. 

Jennie  Barton  was  in  Richmond  through  it  all  and 
yet  the  tragedy  made  no  impression  on  her  heart  or 
mind.  A  greater  event  absorbed  her. 

Dick  Welford  had  hurried  to  Lee's  army  on  the  day 
following  Socola's  departure  from  Richmond.  He 
wanted  to  fight  once  more.  Through  all  the  whirl 
wind  of  death  and  blood  from  the  first  crash  with 
Grant  in  the  Wilderness  to  his  vain  assaults  on  Peters 
burg  he  had  fought  without  a  scratch.  His  life  was 
charmed.  And  then  in  the  first  day  of  the  final  strug 
gle  which  broke  the  lines  of  Lee's  starving  army  he  fell, 
leading  his  men  in  a  glorious  charge.  He  reached  the 
hospital  in  Richmond  the  day  before  the  city's  evacu 
ation. 

Jennie  had  watched  by  his  bedside  every  hour  since 
his  arrival.  But  few  words  passed  between  them. 
She  let  him  hold  her  hand  for  hours  in  silence,  always 
looking,  looking  and  smiling  his  deathless  love. 

He  had  not  spoken  Socola's  name  nor  had  she. 

"  It's  funny,  Jennie,"  he  said  at  last,  "  I  don't  hate 
him  any  more — " 

The  girl's  head  drooped  aad  the  tears  streamed 
down  her  cheeks. 

468 


THE  FALL  OF  RICHMOND 

"  Please,   Dick  —  don't  — " 

"  Yes,"  he  insisted,  "  I  want  to  talk  about  it  and 
you  must  hear  me  —  won't  you  ?  " 

"  Of  course,  if  you  wish  it,"  she  answered  tenderly. 

"  You  see  I  don't  hate  these  Yankee  soldiers  any 
more  — •  anyhow.  I  saw  too  many  of  them  die  from 
the  Wilderness  to  Petersburg  —  brave  manly  fellows. 
The  fire  of  battle  has  burned  the  hate  out  of  me.  Now 
I  just  want  you  to  be  happy,  Jennie  dear,  -that's  all  — 
good-by  — " 

His  hand  slipped  from  hers  and  in  a  moment  his 
spirit  had  passed. 


CHAPTER  XLII 

THE  CAPTURE 

At  midnight  on  the  day  of  the  evacuation  the  Pres 
ident  and  his  Cabinet  left  Richmond  for  Danville.  He 
still  believed  that  Lee  might  cut  his  way  through 
Grant's  lines  and  join  his  army  with  Johnston's  in 
North  Carolina.  Lee  had  restored  Johnston  to  com 
mand  of  the  small  army  that  yet  survived  in  opposi 
tion  to  Sherman.  He  had  hopes  that  Johnston's  per 
sonal  popularity  with  the  soldiers  might  in  a  measure 
restore  their  spirits. 

The  President  established  his  temporary  Capital  at 
Danville.  G.  W.  Sutherlin  placed  his  beautiful  home 
at  his  disposal.  Communications  with  Lee  had  been 
cut  and  the  wildest  rumors  were  afloat.  Davis  wrote 
his  last  proclamation  urging  his  people  to  maintain 
their  courage. 

In  this  remarkable  document  he  said: 

"  I  announce  to  you,  my  fellow  countrymen,  that  it  is 
my  purpose  to  maintain  your  cause  with  my  whole  heart 
and  soul.  I  will  never  consent  to  abandon  to  the  enemy 
one  foot  of  the  soil  of  any  of  the  States  of  the  Confederacy. 

"  If  by  stress  of  numbers,  we  should  be  compelled  to  a 
temporary  withdrawal  from  the  limits  of  Virginia  or  any 
other  border  State,  we  will  return  until  the  baffled  and  ex 
hausted  enemy  shall  abandon  in  despair  his  endless  and 
impossible  task  of  making  slaves  of  a  people  resolved  to 
be  free. 

"  Let  us,  then,  not  despair,  my  countrymen,  but,  relying 
on  God,  meet  the  foe  with  fresh  defiance,  and  with  uncon- 
quered  and  unconquerable  hearts." 

470 


THE  CAPTURE 


So  Washington  spoke  to  his  starving,  freezing  little 
army  at  Valley  Forge  in  the  darkest  hour  of  our  strug 
gle  for  independence  against  Great  Britain.  With 
the  help  of  France  Washington  succeeded  at  last. 

Davis  was  destined  to  fail.  No  friendly  foreign 
power  came  to  his  aid.  His  courage  was  none  the  less 
sublime  for  this  reason. 

Lee's  skeleton  army  surrendered  to  Grant  at  Ap- 
pomattox,  and  Davis  hurried  to  Greensboro  where 
Johnston  and  Beauregard  were  encamped  with  twenty- 
eight  thousand  men.  Two  hundred  school  girls 
marched  to  the  house  in  Danville  and  cheered  him  as 
he  left. 

Mrs.  Sutherlin  in  the  last  hour  of  his  stay  asked  for 
a  moment  of  his  time. 

He  ushered  her  into  his  room  with  grave  courtesy. 

"  Dear  Madam,"  he  began  smilingly,  "  you  have 
risked  your  home  and  the  safety  of  your  husband  to 
honor  me  and  the  South.  I  thank  you  for  myself  and 
the  people.  Is  there  anything  I  can  do  to  show  how 
much  I  appreciate  it?  " 

"  You  have  greatly  honored  us  by  accepting  our  hos 
pitality,"  was  the  quick  cheerful  answer.  "  We  shall 
always  be  rich  in  its  memory.  I  have  but  one  favor 
to  ask  of  you — " 

"  Name  it  — " 

She  drew  a  bag  from  a  basket  and  handed  it  to 
him. 

"  Accept  this  little  gift  we  have  saved.  It  will  help 
you  on  your  journey.  It's  only  a  thousand  dollars  in 
gold  —  I  wish  it  were  more." 

The  President's  eyes  grew  dim  and  he  shook  his  head. 

"  No  —  no  —  dear,  dear  Mrs.  Sutherlin.  Your 
needs  will  be  greater  than  mine.  Besides,  I  have  asked 
all  for  the  cause  —  nothing  for  myself  —  nothing !  " 

He  left  Danville  with  heart  warmed  by  the  smiles  and 
471 


THE  VICTIM 


cheers  of  two  hundred  beautiful  girls  and  the  offer  of 
every  dollar  a  patriotic  woman  possessed. 

He  had  need  of  its  memory  to  cheer  him  at  Greens 
boro.  Here  he  felt  for  the  first  time  the  results  of  the 
malignant  campaign  which  Holden's  Raleigh  Standard 
had  waged  against  him  and  his  administration.  So 
great  was  the  panic  and  so  bitter  the  feeling  which 
Holden's  sheet  had  roused  that  it  was  impossible  for 
the  President  and  his  Cabinet  to  find  accommodations 
in  any  hotel  or  house.  He  was  compelled  to  camp  in 
a  freight  car. 

It  remained  for  a  brave  Southern  woman  to  resent 
this  insult  to  the  Chieftain.  When  Mrs.  C.  A.  L'Hom- 
medieu  learned  that  the  President  was  in  town,  housed 
in  a  freight  car  and  shunned  by  the  citizens,  she  sent 
him  a  note  and  begged  him  to  make  her  house  his  home 
and  to  honor  her  by  commanding  anything  in  it  and 
all  that  she  possessed. 

The  leader  was  at  this  moment  preparing  to  leave 
for  Charlotte  and  had  to  decline  her  generous  and  brave 
offer.  But  he  was  deeply  moved.  He  stopped  his  work 
to  write  her  a  beautiful  letter  of  thanks. 

His  interview  with  Johnston  and  Beauregard  was 
strained  and  formal.  Johnston's  army  in  its  present 
position  in  the  hands  of  a  resolute  and  daring  com 
mander  could  have  formed  a  light  column  of  ten  thou 
sand  cavalry  and  cut  its  way  through  all  opposition 
to  the  Mississippi  River.  Knowing  the  character  of  his 
General  so  well  he  had  small  hopes. 

After  receiving  the  report  of  the  condition  of  the 
army  the  President  called  his  Cabinet  to  consider  what 
should  be  done. 

Johnston  sat  at  as  great  a  distance  from  Davis  as 
the  room  would  permit. 

The  President  reviewed  briefly  the  situation  and 
turned  calmly  to  Johnston: 

472 


THE  CAPTURE 


"  General,  we  should  like  now  to  hear  your  views." 

The  reply  was  given  with  brutal  brevity  and  in  tones 
of  unconcealed  defiance  and  hatred. 

"  Sir,"  the  great  retreater  blurted  out,  "  ray  views 
are  that  our  people  are  tired  of  war,  feel  themselves 
whipped  and  will  not  fight." 

A  dead  silence  followed. 

The  President  turned  in  quiet  dignity  to  Beaure- 
gard  : 

"And  what  do  you  say,  General  Beauregard?  " 

"  I  agree  with  what  General  Johnston  has  said,"  he 
replied. 

There  was  no  appeal  from  the  decision  of  these  two 
commanders  in  such  an  hour.  The  President  dictated 
a  letter  to  General  Sherman  suggesting  their  surrender 
and  outlining  the  advantageous  terms  which  the  North 
ern  Commander  accepted. 

And  then  the  Confederate  Chieftain  received  a  mes 
sage  so  amazing  he  could  not  at  first  credit  its  authority. 

A  courier  from  Sherman  conveyed  the  announcement 
to  Johnston  that  Davis  might  leave  the  country  on  a 
United  States  vessel  and  take  whoever  and  whatever 
he  pleased  with  him. 

The  answer  of  Jefferson  Davis  was  characteristic. 

"  Please  thank  General  Sherman  for  his  offer  and 
say  that  I  can  do  no  act  which  will  put  me  under  obli 
gations  to  the  Federal  Government." 

Sherman  had  asked  Lincoln  at  their  last  interview 
whether  he  should  capture  Davis  or  let  him  go. 

A  sunny  smile  overspread  the  rugged  features  of  the 
National  President: 

"  That  reminds  me,"  he  said,  "  of  a  temperance  lec 
turer  in  Illinois.  Wet  and  cold  he  stopped  for  the  night 
at  a  wayside  inn.  The  landlord,  noting  his  condition, 
asked  if  he  would  have  a  glass  of  brandy. 

"  '  No  —  no  — '  came  the  quick  reply.  '  I  am  a  tem- 
473 


THE  VICTIM 


perance  lecturer  and  do  not  drink  — '  he  paused  and  his 
voice  dropped  to  a  whisper  — 4 1  would  like  some  water 
however  —  and  if  you  should  of  your  own  accord,  put 
a  little  brandy  in  it  unbeknownst  to  me  —  why,  it  will 
be  all  right.' " 

Sherman  was  trying  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the 
man  with  the  loving  heart. 

At  Charlotte  Davis  was  handed  a  telegram  announc 
ing  the  assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  His  thin 
face  went  death  white.  Handing  the  telegram  te  his 
Secretary,  he  quietly  said: 

"  I  am  sorry.  We  have  lost  our  noblest  and  best 
friend  in  the  court  of  the  enemy." 

He  immediately  telegraphed  the  news  to  his  wife  who 
had  fled  further  south  to  Abbeville,  South  Carolina. 
Mrs.  Davis  burst  into  tears  on  reading  the  fatal  mes 
sage.  Her  woman's  intuition  saw  the  vision  of  horror 
which  the  tragedy  meant  to  her  and  to  her  stricken 
people. 

The  President  left  Charlotte  with  an  escort  of  a 
thousand  cavalrymen  for  Abbeville.  His  journey  was 
slow.  The  wagons  were  carrying  all  that  remained  of 
the  Confederate  Treasury  with  the  money  in  currency 
from  the  Richmond  banks  which  had  been  entrusted  to 
the  care  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Davis  stopped  at  a  little  cabin  on  the  roadside  and 
asked  the  lady  who  stood  in  the  doorway  for  a  drink 
of  water. 

She  turned  to  comply  with  his  request. 

While  he  was  drinking  a  baby  barely  able  to  walk 
crawled  down  the  steps  and  toddled  to  him. 

The  mother  smiled. 

"  Is  this  not  President  Davis  ? "  she  asked  trem 
blingly.^ 

"  It  is,  Madam,"  he  answered  with  a  bow. 

She  pointed  proudly  to  the  child: 
474 


THE  CAPTURE 


"  He's  named  for  you !  " 

The  President  drew  a  gold  coin  from  his  pocket  and 
handed  it  to  the  mother. 

"  Please  keep  it  for  my  little  namesake  and  tell  him 
when  he  is  old  enough  to  know." 

As  he  rode  away  with  Reagan,  his  faithful  Postmas 
ter  General,  he  said: 

"  The  last  coin  I  had  on  earth,  Reagan.  I  wouldn't 
have  had  that  but  for  the  fact  I'd  never  seen  one  like 
it  and  kept  it  for  luck." 

"  I  reckon  the  war's  about  finished  us,"  the  General 
replied. 

"  Yes,"  Davis  cheerfully  answered.  "  My  home  is 
a  wreck.  Benjamin's  and  Breckinridge's  are  in  Fed 
eral  hands.  Mallory's  fine  residence  at  Pensacola  has 
been  burned  by  the  enemy.  Your  home  in  Texas  has 
been  wrecked  and  burned  — " 

He  paused  and  drew  from  his  pocketbook  a  few  Con 
federate  bills. 

"  That  is  my  estate  at  the  present  moment." 

He  received  next  day  a  letter  from  his  wife  which 
greatly  cheered  him: 

"ABBEVILLE,  S.  C.,  April  28,  1865. 
"My  dear  old  Husband: 

"  Your  very  sweet  letter  reached  me  safely  by  Mr.  Har 
rison  and  was  a  great  relief.  I  leave  here  in  the  morning 
at  6  o'clock  for  the  wagon  train  going  to  Georgia.  Wash 
ington  will  be  the  first  place  I  shall  unload  at.  From 
there  we  shall  probably  go  on  to  Atlanta  or  thereabouts, 
and  wait  a  little  until  we  hear  something  of  you.  Let  me 
beseech  you  not  to  calculate  upon  seeing  me  unless  I  hap 
pen  to  cross  your  shortest  path  toward  your  bourne,  be 
that  what  it  may. 

"It  is  surely  not  the  fate  to  which  you  invited  me  in  the 
brighter  days.  But  you  must  remember  that  you  did  not 
invite  me  to  a  great  here's  home  but  to  that  of  a  plain 

475 


THE  VICTIM 


farmer.  I  have  shared  all  your  triumphs,  been  the  only 
beneficiary  of  them,  now  I  am  claiming  the  privilege  for 
the  first  time  of  being  all  to  you,  since  these  pleasures  have 
passed  for  me. 

"  My  plans  are  these,  subject  to  your  approval.  I 
think  I  shall  be  able  to  procure  funds  enough  to  enable  me 
to  put  the  two  eldest  to  school.  I  shall  go  to  Florida  if 
possible  and  from  thence  go  over  to  Bermuda  or  Nassau, 
from  thence  to  England,  unless  a  good  school  offers  else 
where,  and  put  them  to  the  best  school  I  can  find,  and  then 
with  the  two  youngest  join  you  in  Texas  —  and  that  is  the 
prospect  which  bears  me  up,  to  be  once  more  with  you  if 
need  be  —  but  God  loves  those  who  obey  Him  and  I  know 
there  is  a  future  for  you. 

"  Here  they  are  all  your  friends  and  have  the  most  un 
bounded  confidence  in  you.  Mr.  Burt  and  his  wife  have 
urged  me  to  live  with  them  —  offered  to  take  the  chances 
of  the  Yankees  with  us  —  begged  to  have  little  Maggie  — 
done  everything  in  fact  that  relatives  could  do.  I  shall 
never  forget  all  their  generous  devotion  to  you. 

"  I  have  seen  a  great  many  men  who  have  gone  through 
—  not  one  has  talked  fight.  A  stand  cannot  be  made  in 
this  country!  Do  not  be  induced  to  try  it.  As  to  the 
trans-Mississippi,  I  doubt  if  at  first  things  will  be  straight, 
but  the  spirit  is  there,  and  the  daily  accretions  will  be 
great  when  the  deluded  of  this  side  are  crushed  between 
the  upper  and  nether  millstones.  But  you  have  not  tried 
the  '  strict  construction  '  fallacy.  If  we  are  to  require  a 
Constitution,  it  must  be  much  stretched  during  our  hours 
of  outside  pressure  if  it  covers  us  at  all. 

"  Be  careful  how  you  go  to  Augusta.  I  get  rumors  that 
Brown  is  going  to  seize  all  Government  property,  and  the 
people  are  averse  and  mean  to  resist  with  pistols.  They 
are  a  set  of  wretches  together,  and  I  wish  you  were  safe 
out  of  their  land.  God  bless  you,  keep  you.  I  have 
wrestled  with  Him  for  you.  I  believe  He  will  restore  us 
to  happiness. 

"  Devotedly, 

"  YOUR  WIFE." 
476 


THE  CAPTURE 


"  Kindest  regards  to  Robert,  and  thanks  for  faithful  con 
duct.  Love  to  Johnson  and  John  Wood.  Maggie  sends 
you  her  best  love." 

The  President  and  his  party  reached  Abbeville  on 
May  first,  only  to  find  that  his  wife  had  left  for  Wash 
ington,  Georgia. 

At  Abbeville,  in  the  home  of  Armistead  Burt,  Davis 
called  his  last  Cabinet  meeting  and  council  of  war. 

There  were  present  five  brigade  commanders,  Gen 
eral  Braxton  Bragg,  his  Chief  -of  -Staff,  Breckinridge, 
Benjamin  and  Reagan  of  his  Cabinet.  The  indomi 
table  spirit  made  the  last  appeal  for  courage  and  the 
continuance  of  the  fight  until  better  terms  could  be  made 
that  might  save  the  South  from  utter  ruin  and  the  shame 
of  possible  negro  rule. 

He  faced  them  with  firm  resolution,  his  piercing  eye 
undimmed  by  calamity. 

"  The  South,  gentlemen,"  he  declared,  "  is  in  a  panic 
for  the  moment.  We  have  resources  to  continue  the 
war.  Let  those  who  remain  with  arms  in  their  hands 
set  the  example  and  others  will  rally.  Let  the  brave 
men  yet  with  me  renew  their  determination  to  fight. 
Around  you  reinforcements  will  gather." 

The  replies  of  his  discouraged  commanders  were 
given  in  voices  that  sank  to  whispers.  Each  man  was 
called  on  for  his  individual  opinion. 

Slowly  and  painfully  each  gave  his  answer  in  the 
negative.  The  war  was  hopeless,  but  they  would  not 
disband  their  men  until  they  had  guarded  the  Presi 
dent  to  a  place  of  safety. 

"  No !  "  Davis  answered  passionately.  "  I  will  lis 
ten  to  no  proposition  for  my  safety.  I  appeal  to  you 
for  the  cause  of  my  country.  Stand  by  it,  men  — 
stand  by  it !  " 

His  appeal  was  received  in  silence.  His  councilors 
477 


THE  VICTIM 


could  not  agree  with  him.  The  proud  old  man  drew 
his  slender  body  to  its  full  height,  lifted  his  hands  and 
cried  pathetically: 

"  The  friends  of  the  South  consent  to  her  degrada 
tion!" 

He  attempted  to  pass  from  the  meeting,  his  emaci 
ated  face  white  with  anger.  His  step  tottered  and  his 
body  swayed  and  would  have  sunk  to  the  floor  had  not 
General  Breckinridge  caught  him  in  his  arms  and  led 
him  from  the  room. 

Benjamin  parted  from  the  President  when  they 
crossed  the  Savannah  River  and  he  had  dropped  the 
Seal  of  the  Confederate  Government  in  the  depths  of 
its  still,  beautiful  waters. 

"  Where  are  you  going?  "  Reagan  asked. 

"To  the  farthest  place  from  the  United  States," 
was  the  quick  reply,  "  if  it  takes  me  to  China." 

He  made  his  way  successfully  to  England  and  won 
fame  and  fortune  in  the  old  world. 

On  hearing  that  the  Federal  cavalry  were  scouring 
the  country,  Breckinridge  and  Reagan  proposed  that 
Davis  disguise  himself  in  a  soldier's  clothes,  a  wool  hat 
and  brogan  shoes,  take  one  man  with  him  and  go  to  the 
coast  of  Florida,  ship  to  Cuba. 

His  reply  was  firm : 

"  I  shall  not  leave  Southern  soil  while  a  Confederate 
regiment  is  on  it.  Kirby  Smith  has  an  army  of  25,000 
men.  He  has  not  surrendered.  General  Hampton  will 
cut  his  way  across  the  Mississippi.  We  can  lead  an 
army  of  60,000  men  on  the  plains  of  Texas  and  fight 
until  we  get  better  terms  than  unconditional  surrender." 

Breckinridge  was  left  at  Washington  to  dispose  of 
the  small  sum  yet  left  in  the  Treasury  and  turn  over 
to  their  agent  the  money  of  the  Richmond  banks. 

Robert  Toombs  lived  in  Washington.  General  Rea 
gan  called  on  the  distinguished  leader. 

478 


THE  CAPTURE 


He  invited  his  guest  into  his  library  and  closed  the 
door. 

"  You  have  money,  Reagan  ?  " 

"  Enough  to  take  me  west  of  the  Mississippi  — " 

"  You  are  well  mounted?  " 

"  One  of  the  best  horses  in  the  country." 

"  I  am  at  home,"  he  added  generously.  "  I  can  com 
mand  what  I  want,  and  if  you  need  anything,  I  can 
supply  you  — " 

"  Thank  you,  General,"  Reagan  responded  heartily. 

Toombs  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  asked  sud 
denly  : 

"  Has  President  Davis  money?  " 

"  No,  but  I  hare  enough  to  take  us  both  across  the 
Mississippi." 

"Is  Mr.  Davis  well  mounted?" 

"  He  has  his  fine  bay,  *  Kentucky,'  and  General  Lee 
sent  him  at  Greensboro  by  his  son  Robert,  his  gray 
war  horse  4  Traveler,'  as  a  present.  He  has  two  first 
class  horses." 

Again  Toombs  was  silent. 

"  Mr.  Davis  and  I,"  he  went  on  thoughtfully,  "  have 
had  our  quarrels.  We  have  none  now.  I  want  you  to 
say  to  him  that  my  men  are  around  me  here,  and  if  he 
desires  it  I  will  call  them  together  and  see  him  safely 
across  the  Chattahoochee  River  at  the  risk  of  my 
life—" 

"  I'll  tell  him,  General  Toombs,"  Reagan  cordially 
responded.  "  And  I  appreciate  your  noble  offer.  It 
differs  from  others  who  have  pretended  to  be  his  best 
friends.  They  are  getting  away  from  him  as  fast  as 
they  can.  Some  are  base  enough  to  malign  him  to  curry 
favor  with  the  enemy.  I've  known  Jefferson  Davis  in 
timately  for  ten  years.  The  past  four  years  of  war 
I've  been  with  him  daily  under  every  condition  of  vic 
tory  and  defeat,  and  I  swear  to  you  that  he's  the  tru- 

479 


THE  VICTIM 


est,  gentlest,  bravest,  tenderest,  manliest  man  I  have 
ever  known — " 

"  Let  me  know,"  Toombs  urged,  "  if  I  can  serve  him 
in  any  possible  way." 

When  Reagan  delivered  the  message  to  the  Presi 
dent  he  responded  warmly: 

"  That's  like  Toombs.  He  was  always  a  whole  souled 
man.  If  it  were  necessary  I  should  not  hesitate  to  ac 
cept  his  offer." 

He  was  slowly  reading  his  wife's  last  letters  which 
had  been  delivered  to  him  by  scouts  who  were  still  faith 
ful 

They  were  riding  in  a  wagon  with  picked  Mississippi 
teamsters  twenty  miles  below  Washington: 

"  All  well,  with  Winnie  sweet  and  smiling.  Billy  plenty 
of  laughter  and  talk  with  the  teamsters  keeps  quiet.  Jeff 
is  happy  beyond  expression.  Maggie  one  and  two  quite 
well. 

"  I  have  $2,500,  something  to  sell,  and  have  heart  and 
a  hopeful  one,  but  above  all,  my  precious  only  love,  a 
heartful  of  prayer.  May  God  keep  you  and  have  His 
sword  and  buckler  over  you.  Do  not  try  to  make  a  stand 
on  this  side.  It  is  not  in  the  people.  Leave  your  escort 
and  take  another  road  often.  Alabama  is  full  of  cavalry, 
fresh  and  earnest  in  pursuit.  May  God  keep  you  and 
bring  you  safe  to  the  arms  of 

"  Your  devoted, 

"  WINNIE." 

He  opened  and  read  another: 

"  My  own  precious  Banny : 

"  May  God  give  us  both  patience  against  this  heavy  trial. 
The  soldiers  are  very  unruly  and  have  taken  almost  all  the 
mules  and  horses  from  the  camp.  Do  not  try  to  meet  me. 
I  dread  the  Yankees  getting  news  of  you  so  much.  You 
are  the  country's  only  hope  and  the  very  best  intentions 
do  not  advise  a  stand  this  side  of  the  river.  Why  not  cut 

480 


THE  CAPTURE 


loose  from  your  escort?     Go  swiftly  and  alone  with  the 
exception  of  two  or  three. 

"  Oh,  may  God  in  His  goodness  keep  you  safe,  my  own. 
Maggie  says  she  has  your  prayer  book  safe.  May  God 
keep  you,  my  old  and  only  love,  as  ever,  devotedly, 

"  Your  own, 

"  WINNIE." 

He  had  not  seen  his  wife  and  babies  since  they  left 
Richmond.  The  conduct  of  the  soldiers  determined  his 
course.  He  turned  to  Reagan: 

"  This  move  will  probably  cause  me  to  be  captured 
or  killed.  You  are  not  bound  to  go  with  me  —  but  I 
must  protect  my  family." 

"  I  go  with  you,  sir  — "  was  the  prompt  response. 

The  soldiers  were  dismissed  and  the  money  still  re 
maining  in  the  Treasury  divided  among  them.  A  picked 
guard  of  ten  men  rode  with  the  fallen  Chieftain  in 
search  of  his  loved  ones. 

They  joined  Mrs.  Davis  after  a  hard  ride  and  found 
her  camp  threatened  by  marauders.  He  traveled  with 
her  two  days  and,  apparently  out  of  danger,  she  begged 
him  to  leave  her  and  make  good  his  escape.  He  finally 
agreed  to  do  this  and  with  Reagan,  the  members  of 
his  staff  and  Burton  Harrison,  his  Secretary,  started 
for  the  Florida  coast. 

The  day  was  one  of  dismal  fog  and  rain  and  the 
party  lost  the  way,  turning  in  a  circle,  and  at  sunset 
met  Mrs.  Davis  and  her  company  at  the  fork  of  the 
road  near  the  Ocmulgee  River. 

The  President  and  staff  traveled  with  his  wife  next 
day  and  made  twenty-eight  miles.  At  Irwinsville  their 
presence  was  betrayed  to  the  Federal  cavalry,  his  camp 
surrounded  by  Colonel  Pritchard,  and  the  Confederate 
President  and  party  arrested. 

The  soldiers  plundered  his  baggage,  tore  open  his 
wife's  trunks  and  scattered  her  dresses.  In  one  of 
32  481 


THE  VICTIM 


these  trunks  they  found  a  pair  of  new  hoopskirts  which 
Mrs.  Davis  had  bought  but  never  worn.  An  enterpris 
ing  newspaper  man  immediately  invented  and  sent 
broadcast  the  story  that  he  had  been  captured  trying 
to  escape  in  his  wife's  hoopskirts.  His  enemies  refused 
to  hear  any  contradiction  of  this  invention.  It  was  too 
good  not  to  be  true.  They  clung  to  it  long  after  Colo 
nel  Pritchard  and  every  man  present  had  given  it  the 
lie. 

They  had  traveled  a  day's  journey  toward  Macon, 
the  headquarters  of  General  Wilson,  when  an  excited 
man  galloped  into  the  camp  waving  over  his  head  a 
printed  slip  of  paper. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  Davis  asked  of  his  guard. 

The  guard  seized  and  read  the  slip  and  turned  to 
the  Confederate  Chieftain  and  his  wife. 

"  Andrew  Johnson's  proclamation  offering  a  reward 
of  $100,000  for  the  capture  of  Jefferson  Davis  as  the 
murderer  of  Abraham  Lincoln ! " 

A  cry  of  anguish  came  from  the  faithful  wife. 

The  leader  touched  her  shoulder  gently. 

"  Hush,  my  dear.  The  miserable  scoundrel  who 
wrote  that  proclamation  knew  that  it  is  false.  He  is 
the  one  man  in  the  United  States  who  knows  that  I  pre 
ferred  Abraham  Lincoln  in  the  White  House  to  him  or 
any  other  man  the  North  might  elect.  Such  an  ac 
cusation  must  fail  — " 

The  wife  was  not  comforted. 

"  These  men  may  assassinate  you !  " 

The  soldiers  crowded  about  their  defenseless  pris 
oner  and  heaped  on  him  the  vilest  curses  and  insults. 
He  made  no  answer.  The  far-away  look  in  his  eagle 
eye  told  them  only  too  plainly  that  he  did  not  hear. 

Colonel  Pritchard  in  his  manly  way  made  every  ef 
fort  to  protect  him  from  insult.  Within  a  short  dis 
tance  of  Macon,  the  prisoners  were  halted  and  their 

482 


THE  CAPTURE 


escort  drawn  up  in  line  on  either  side  of  the  road.  Colo 
nel  Pritchard  had  ridden  into  Macon  for  a  brigade  to 
escort  his  captives  through  the  streets  of  the  city. 

The  soldiers  again  cursed  and  jeered.  The  children 
climbed  into  their  father's  arms,  kissed  and  hugged  him 
tenderly  and  put  their  little  hands  over  his  ears  that 
he  should  not  hear  what  they  said. 

He  soothed  their  fears  and  comforted  them  with 
beautiful  lines  from  the  Psalms  which  he  quoted  in  tones 
of  marvelous  sweetness. 

General  Wilson  received  his  distinguished  prisoner 
with  the  deference  due  his  rank  and  character.  His 
guard  in  silence  opened  their  lines  and  presented  arms 
as  Davis  entered  the  building. 


CHAPTER  XLIII 
THE  VICTOR 

Socola  hurried  into  Richmond  three  days  after  its 
fall  in  the  desperate  hope  that  he  might  be  of  service 
to  Jennie. 

He  was  two  days  finding  her.  She  had  offered  her 
services  to  Mrs.  Hopkins  in  the  Alabama  hospital.  He 
sent  in  his  card  and  she  refused  to  see  him.  He  asked 
an  interview  with  Mrs.  Hopkins  and  begged  her  to  help. 
Her  motherly  heart  went  out  to  him  in  sympathy.  His 
utter  misery  was  so  plainly  written  in  his  drawn  face. 

"  You're  so  like  my  own  mother,  madame,"  he 
pleaded.  "  I'm  an  orphan  to-day.  Our  army  has  con 
quered,  but  I  have  lost.  I  find  myself  repeating  the 
old  question,  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the 
whole  world  and  forfeit  his  life  ?  She  is  my  life  —  I 
can't  —  I  won't  give  her  up.  Tell  her  she  must  see 
me.  I  will  not  leave  Richmond  until  I  see  her.  If 
she  leaves,  I'll  follow  her  to  the  ends  of  the  world.  Tell 
her  this." 

The  gentle  hand  pressed  his. 

« I'll  teU  her." 

"  And  try  to  help  me  ?  "  he  begged. 

"  All  the  world  loves  a  lover,"  the  fine  thin  lips  slowly 
repeated  — "  yes,  I'll  try." 

At  the  end  of  ten  minutes  she  returned  alone.  Her 
face  gave  no  hope. 

"  I'm  afraid  it's  useless.     She  positively  refuses." 

"  You  gave  her  my  message  ?  " 
484 


THE  VICTOR 


<  Yes." 

"  I'll  wait  a  day  and  try  again  — " 

"  You  knew  of  Captain  Welford's  death,  I  suppose?  " 

Socola  started  and  turned  pale. 

«  No  — " 

"  He  died  and  was  buried  two  days  ago  near  the  spot 
where  General  Stuart  sleeps." 

The  lover  was  stunned  for  a  moment.  The  hidden 
thought  flashed  through  his  mind  that  she  might  have 
married  Welford  in  the  reaction  over  her  discovery  of 
his  deception.  He  opened  his  lips  to  ask  the  question 
and  held  his  peace.  It  was  impossible.  She  couldn't 
have  done  such  a  thing.  He  put  the  idea  out  of  his 
heart. 

"  Thank  you  for  the  information,  dear  madame,"  he 
answered  gravely,  turned  and  left  the  building. 

He  walked  quickly  to  his  hotel,  hired  a  negro  to  get 
him  a  wreath  of  roses  and  meet  him  at  the  cemetery 
gate.  He  had  just  placed  them  on  Welford's  grave 
as  Jennie  suddenly  appeared. 

She  stopped,  transfixed  in  astonishment  —  her  eyes 
wide  with  excitement. 

He  walked  slowly  to  meet  her  and  stood  looking  into 
her  soul,  searching  its  depths. 

"  You  here  ?  "  she  gasped  — 

"  Yes.  I  brought  my  tribute  to  a  brave  and  gen 
erous  foe.  He  hated  me,  perhaps  —  but  for  your  sake 
he  gave  me  my  life  —  I  never  hated  him  — " 

"  With  his  last  breath  he  told  me  that  he  no  longer 
hated  you,"  she  answered  dreamily. 

"  And  you  cannot  forgive  ?  " 

"  No.  Our  lives  are  far  apart  now.  The  gulf  be 
tween  us  can  never  be  passed." 

He  smiled  tenderly  and  spoke  with  vibrant  pas 
sion. 

"  I'm  going  to  show  you  that  it  can  be  passed.  I'm 
485 


THE  VICTIM 


going  to  love  you  with  such  devotion  I'll  draw  you  at 
last  with  resistless  power — " 

"Never—" 

She  turned  quickly  and  left  him  gazing  wistfully  at 
her  slender  figure  silhouetted  against  the  glow  of  the 
sunset. 


CHAPTER  XLIV 
PRISON  BARS 

The  ship  which  bore  the  distinguished  prisoner  from 
Savannah  did  not  proceed  to  Washington,  but  anchored 
in  Hampton  Roads  at  Fortress  Monroe. 

A  little  tug  puffed  up  and  drew  alongside  the 
steamer.  She  took  off  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  General 
Joseph  Wheeler  and  Burton  Harrison.  Stephens  and 
Wheeler  were  sent  to  Fort  Warren  in  Boston  Harbor. 

The  next  day  the  tug  returned. 

Little  Jeff  ran  to  his  mother  trembling  and  sobbing: 

"  They  say  they've  come  for  father  —  beg  them  to 
let  us  go  with  him ! " 

Davis  stepped  quickly  forward  and  returned  with 
an  officer. 

"  It's  true,"  he  whispered.  "  They  have  come  for 
Clay  and  me.  Try  not  to  weep.  These  people  will 
gloat  over  your  grief." 

Mrs.  Davis  and  Mrs.  Clay  stood  close  holding  each 
other's  hands  in  silent  sympathy  and  grim  determina 
tion  to  control  their  emotions.  They  parted  with  their 
husbands  in  dumb  anguish. 

As  the  tug  bore  the  fallen  Chieftain  from  the  ship, 
he  bared  his  head,  drew  his  tall  figure  to  its  full  height, 
and,  standing  between  the  files  of  soldiers,  gazed  on  his 
wife  and  weeping  children  until  the  mists  drew  their 
curtain  over  the  solemn  scene. 

Mrs.  Davis'  stateroom  was  entered  now  by  a  raiding 
party  headed  by  Captain  Hudson.  Her  trunks  were 

487 


THE  VICTIM 


again  forced  open  and  everything  taken  which  the  Cap 
tain  or  his  men  desired  —  among  them  all  her  children's 
clothes.  Jeff  seized  his  little  soldier  uniform  of  Con 
federate  gray  and  ran  with  it.  He  managed  to  hide 
and  save  it. 

Captain  Hudson  then  demanded  the  shawl  which 
Davis  had  thrown  over  his  shoulders  on  the  damp  morn 
ing  when  he  was  captured. 

"  You  have  no  right  to  steal  my  property,"  his  wife 
replied  indignantly.  "  Peace  has  been  declared.  The 
war  is  over.  This  is  plain  robbery." 

Hudson  called  in  another  file  of  soldiers. 

"  Hand  out  that  shawl  or  I'll  take  the  last  rag  you 
have  on  earth.  I'll  pay  you  for  it,  if  you  wish.  But 
I'm  going  to  have  it." 

Mrs.  Davis  took  the  shawl  from  Mrs.  Clay's  shoulders 
and  handed  it  to  the  brute. 

"  At  least  I  may  get  rid  of  your  odious  presence," 
she  cried,  "  by  complying  with  your  demand." 

Hudson  took  the  shawl  with  a  grin  and  led  his  men 
away.  Two  of  his  officers  returned  in  a  few  minutes 
and  thrust  their  heads  in  the  stateroom  of  Mrs.  Davis' 
sister  with  whom  Mrs.  Clay  was  sitting. 

"  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  ladies'  stateroom,"  said  the 
Senator's  wife. 

One  of  them  threw  the  door  open  violently  and 
growled : 

"  There  are  no  ladies  here ! " 

"  I  am  quite  sure,"  was  the  sweet  reply,  "  that  there 
are  no  gentlemen  present ! " 

With  an  oath  they  passed  on.  Little  tugs  filled  with 
vulgar  sightseers  steamed  around  the  ship  and  shouted 
a  continuous  stream  of  insults  when  one  of  the  Davis 
party  could  be  seen. 

General  Nelson  A.  Miles,  the  young  officer  who  had 
been  appointed  jailer  of  Jefferson  Davis  and  Clement 

488 


PRISON  BARS 


C.  Clay  boarded  the  ship  and  proceeded  without  cere 
mony  to  give  his  orders  to  their  wives. 

"  Will  you  tell  me,  General,"  Mrs.  Davis  asked, 
"  where  my  husband  is  imprisoned  and  what  his  treat 
ment  is  to  be?  " 

"  Not  a  word,"  was  the  short  reply. 

His  manner  was  so  abrupt  and  boorish  she  did  not 
press  for  further  news. 

Miles  ventured  some  on  his  own  account. 

"  Jeff  Davis  announced  the  assassination  of  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  the  day  before  it  happened.  I  guess  he 
knew  all  about  it — " 

The  wife  bit  her  lips  and  suppressed  a  sharp  answer. 
Her  husband's  life  was  now  in  this  man's  hands. 

"  You  are  forbidden  to  buy  or  read  a  newspaper," 
he  added  curtly,  "  and  your  ship  will  leave  this  port 
under  sealed  orders." 

In  vain  Davis  pleaded  that  his  wife  and  children 
might  be  allowed  to  go  to  Washington  or  Richmond 
where  they  had  acquaintances  and  friends. 

"  They  will  return  to  Savannah,"  Miles  answered, 
"  by  the  same  ship  in  which  they  came  and  remain  in 
Savannah  under  military  guard." 

Jefferson  Davis  was  imprisoned  in  a  casemate  of  For 
tress  Monroe,  the  embrasure  of  which  was  closed  with 
a  heavy  iron  grating.  The  two  doors  which  communi 
cated  with  the  gunner's  room  were  closed  with  heavy 
double  shutters  fastened  with  crossbars  and  padlocks. 
The  side  openings  were  sealed  with  fresh  masonry. 

Two  sentinels  with  loaded  muskets  paced  the  floor 
without  a  moment's  pause  day  or  night.  Two  other 
sentinels  and  a  commissioned  officer  occupied  the  gun 
ner's  room,  the  door  and  window  of  which  were  securely 
fastened.  Sentinels  were  stationed  on  the  parapet  over 
head  whose  steady  tramp  day  and  night  made  sleep  im 
possible. 

489 


THE  VICTIM 


The  embrasure  opened  on  the  big  ditch  which  sur 
rounds  the  fort  —  sixty  feet  wide  and  ten  feet  deep  in 
salt  water.  Beyond  the  ditch,  on  the  glacis,  was  a 
double  line  of  sentinels  and  in  the  casemate  rooms  on 
either  side  of  his  prison  were  quartered  that  part  of 
the  guard  which  was  not  on  post. 

To  render  rest  or  comfort  impossible  a  lighted  lamp 
was  placed  within  three  feet  of  the  prisoner's  eyes  and 
kept  burning  brightly  xall  night.  His  jailer  knew  he 
had  but  one  eye  whose  sight  remained  and  that  he  was 
a  chronic  sufferer  from  neuralgia. 

His  escape  from  Fortress  Monroe  was  a  physical  im 
possibility  without  one  of  the  extraordinary  precau 
tions  taken.  The  purpose  of  these  arrangements  could 
have  only  been  to  inflict  pain,  humiliation  and  possibly 
to  take  his  life.  He  had  never  been  robust  since  the 
breakdown  of  his  health  on  the  Western  plains.  Worn 
by  privation  and  exposure,  approaching  sixty  years  of 
age,  he  was  in  no  condition  physically  to  resist  dis 
ease. 

The  damp  walls,  the  coarse  food,  the  loss  of  sleep 
caused  by  the  tramp  of  sentinels  inside  his  room,  outside 
and  on  the  roof  over  his  head  and  the  steady  blaze  of 
a  lamp  in  his  eyes  at  night  within  forty-eight  hours 
had  completed  his  prostration. 

But  his  jailers  were  not  content. 

On  May  twenty-third,  Captain  Titlow  entered  his 
cell  with  two  blacksmiths  bearing  a  pair  of  heavy  leg 
irons  coupled  together  by  a  ponderous  chain. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you,  sir,"  the  polite  young 
officer  began,  "  that  I  have  been  ordered  to  put  you  in 
irons." 

"  Has  General  Miles  given  that  order  ?  " 

"  He  has." 

"  I  wish  to  see  him  at  once,  please." 

"  General  Miles  has  just  left  the  fort,  sir." 
490 


"  *  Do  your  duty — put  them  on  him  J  " 


PRISON  BARS 


"  You  can  postpone  the  execution  of  your  order  until 
I  see  him  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  warned  against  delay." 

"  No  soldier  ever  gave  such  an  order,"  was  the  stern 
reply ;  "  no  soldier  should  receive  or  execute  it  — " 

"  His  orders  are  from  Washington  —  mine  are  from 
him." 

"  But  he  can  telegraph  —  there  must  be  some  mis 
take  —  no  such  outrage  is  on  record  in  the  history  of 
nations  — " 

"  My  orders  are  peremptory." 

"  You  shall  not  inflict  on  me  and  on  my  people 
through  me  this  insult  worse  than  death.  I  will  not 
submit  to  it !  " 

"  I  sincerely  trust,  sir,"  the  Captain  urged  kindly, 
"  that  you  will  not  compel  me  to  use  force." 

"  I  am  a  gentleman  and  a  soldier,  Captain  Titlow," 
was  the  stern  answer.  "  I  know  how  to  die  — "  he 
paused  and  pointed  to  the  sentinel  who  stood  ready. 
"  Let  your  men  shoot  me  at  once  —  I  will  not  submit 
to  this  outrage !  " 

The  prisoner  backed  away  with  his  hand  on  a  chair 
and  stood  waiting. 

The  Captain  turned  to  his  blacksmiths: 

"  Do  your  duty  —  put  them  on  him  !  " 

As  the  workman  bent  with  his  chain  Davis  hurled 
him  to  the  other  side  of  the  cell  and  lifted  his  chair. 

The  sentinel  cocked  and  lowered  his  musket  advanc 
ing  on  the  prisoner  who  met  him  defiantly  with  bared 
breast. 

The  Captain  sprang  between  them : 

"  Put  down  your  gun.  I'll  give  you  orders  to  fire 
when  necessary." 

He  turned  to  the  officer  at  the  door: 

"  Bring  in  four  of  your  strongest  men  < —  unarmed 
—  you  understand  ?  " 

491 


THE  VICTIM 


"Yes,  sir—" 

The  men  entered,  sprang  on  their  helpless  victim, 
bore  him  to  the  floor,  pinned  him  down  with  their  heavy 
bodies  and  held  him  securely  while  the  blacksmiths  riv 
eted  the  chains  on  one  leg  and  fastened  the  clasp  on 
the  other  with  a  heavy  padlock. 

He  had  resented  this  cowardly  insult  for  himself  and 
his  people.  He  had  resisted  with  the  hope  that  he 
might  be  killed  before  it  was  accomplished.  He  saw 
now  with  clear  vision  that  the  purpose  of  his  jailer 
was  to  torture  him  to  death.  His  proud  spirit  rose  in 
fierce  rebellion.  He  would  cheat  them  of  their  prey. 
They  might  take  his  life  but  it  should  be  done  under 
the  forms  of  law  in  open  day.  He  would  live.  His 
will  would  defy  death.  He  would  learn  to  sleep  with 
the  tramp  of  three  sets  of  sentinels  in  his  ears.  He 
would  eat  their  coarse  food  at  whatever  cost  to  his  feel 
ings.  He  would  learn  to  bury  his  face  in  his  bedding 
to  avoid  the  rays  of  the  lamp  with  which  they  were 
trying  to  blind  him. 

He  had  need  of  all  his  fierce  resolution. 

He  had  resolved  to  ask  no  favors,  but  his  suffering 
had  been  so  acute,  his  determination  melted  at  the  doc 
tor's  kind  expressions. 

The  physician  found  him  stretched  on  his  pallet,  hor 
ribly  emaciated  and  breathing  with  difficulty,  his  whole 
body  a  mere  fascine  of  raw  and  tremulous  nerves,  his 
eyes  restless  and  fevered,  his  head  continually  shifting 
from  side  to  side  searching  instinctively  for  a  cool  spot 
on  the  hot  coarse  hair  pillow. 

"  Tell  me,"  Dr.  Craven  said  kindly,  "  what  I  can  do 
to  add  to  your  comfort?  " 

The  question  was  asked  with  such  genuine  sympathy 
it  was  impossible  to  resist  it. 

A  smile  flickered  about  his  thin  mouth.  "  This  camp 
mattress,  Doctor,"  he  slowly  replied,  "  I  find  a  little 

492 


PRISON  BARS 


thin.  The  slats  beneath  chafe  my  poor  bones.  I've  a 
frail  body  —  though  in  my  youth  and  young  manhood, 
while  soldiering  in  the  West,  I  have  done  some  rough 
camping  and  campaigning.  There  was  flesh  then  to 
cover  my  nerves  and  bones." 

The  doctor  called  an  attendant: 

"  Bring  this  prisoner  another  mattress  and  a  softer 
pillow." 

"  Thank  you,"  Davis  responded  cordially. 

"  You  are  a  smoker  ?  "  the  doctor  asked. 

"  I  have  been  all  my  life,  until  General  Miles  took 
my  pipe  and  tobacco." 

The  doctor  wrote  to  the  Adjutant  General  and  asked 
that  his  patient  be  given  the  use  of  his  pipe. 

On  his  visit  two  days  later  the  doctor  said: 

"  You  must  spend  as  little  time  in  bed  as  possible. 
Exercise  will  be  your  best  medicine." 

The  prisoner  drew  back  the  cover  and  showed  the 
lacerated  ankles. 

"  Impossible  you  see  —  the  pain  is  so  intense  I  can't 
stand  erect.  These  shackles  are  very  heavy.  If  I 
stand,  the  weight  of  them  cuts  into  my  flesh  —  they 
have  already  torn  broad  patches  of  skin  from  the  places 
they  touch.  If  you  can  pad  a  cushion  there,  I  will 
gladly  try  to  drag  them  about  — " 

Dr.  Craven  sought  the  jailer: 

"  General  Miles,"  he  began  respectfully,  "  in  my  opin 
ion  the  condition  of  state-prisoner  Davis  requires  the 
removal  of  those  shackles  until  such  time  as  his  health 
shall  be  established  on  a  firmer  basis.  Exercise  he  must 
have." 

"  You  believe  that  is  a  medical  necessity  ?  " 

"  I  do,  most  earnestly." 

About  the  same  time  General  Miles  had  heard  from 
the  country.  The  incident  had  already  aroused  sharp 
criticism  of  the  Government.  Stanton  had  come  down 

493 


THE  VICTIM 


to  Fortress  Monroe  and  peeped  through  the  bars  at 
the  victim  he  was  torturing,  and  had  extracted  all  the 
comfort  possible  from  the  incident.  The  shackles  were 
removed. 

His  jailor  persisted  in  denying  him  the  most  inno 
cent  books  to  read.  He  asked  the  doctor  to  get  for 
him  if  possible  the  geology  or  the  botany  of  the  South. 
General  Miles  thought  them  dangerous  subjects.  At 
least  the  names  sounded  treasonable.  He  denied  the 
request. 

The  prisoner  asked  for  his  trunk  and  clothes.  Miles 
decided  to  keep  them  in  his  own  office  and  dole  out  the 
linen  by  his  own  standards  of  need. 

Davis  turned  to  his  physician  with  a  flash  of  anger. 

"  It's  contemptible  that  they  should  thus  dole  out 
my  clothes  as  if  I  were  a  convict  in  some  penitentiary. 
They  mean  to  degrade  me.  It  can't  be  done.  No  man 
can  be  degraded  by  unmerited  insult  heaped  upon  the 
helpless.  Such  acts  can  only  degrade  their  perpetra 
tors.  The  day  will  come  when  the  people  will  blush  at 
the  memory  of  such  treatment  — " 

At  last  the  loss  of  sleep  proved  beyond  his  endurance. 
He  had  tried  to  fight  it  out  but  gave  up  in  a  burst  of 
passionate  protest  to  Dr.  Craven.  The  sight  of  his 
eye  was  failing.  The  horror  of  blindness  chilled  his 
soul. 

"  My  treatment  here,"  he  began  with  an  effort  at  re 
straint,  "  is  killing  me  by  inches.  Let  them  make 
shorter  work  of  it.  I  can't  sleep.  No  man  can  live 
without  sleep.  My  jailers  know  this.  I  am  never  alone 
a  moment  —  always  the  eye  of  a  guard  staring  at  me 
day  and  night.  If  I  doze  a  feverish  moment  the  noise 
of  the  relieving  guard  each  two  hours  wakes  me  and 
the  blazing  lamp  pours  its  glare  into  my  aching  throb 
bing  eyes.  There  must  be  a  change  or  I  shall  go  mad 
or  blind  or  both." 

494 


PRISON  BARS 


He  paused  a  moment  and  lifted  his  hollow  face  to 
the  physician  pathetically. 

"  Have  you  ever  been  conscious  of  being  watched  ? 
Of  having  an  eye  fixed  on  you  every  moment,  scrutiniz 
ing  your  smallest  act,  the  change  of  the  muscles  of  your 
face  or  the  pose  of  your  body?  To  have  a  human  eye 
riveted  on  you  every  moment,  waking,  sleeping,  sitting, 
walking,  is  a  refinement  of  torture  never  dreamed  of  by  a 
Comanche  Indian  —  it  is  the  eye  of  a  spy  or  an  enemy 
gloating  over  the  pain  and  humiliation  which  it  creates. 
The  lamp  burning  in  my  eyes  is  a  form  of  torment  de 
vised  by  someone  who  knew  my  habit  of  life  never  to 
sleep  except  in  total  darkness.  When  I  took  old  Black 
Hawk  the  Indian  Chief  a  captive  to  our  barracks  at 
St.  Louis  I  shielded  him  from  the  vulgar  gaze"  of  the 
curious.  I  have  lived  too  long  in  the  woods  to  be  fright 
ened  by  am  owl  and  I've  seen  Death  too  often  to  flinch 
at  any  form  of  pain  —  but  this  torture  of  being  for 
ever  watched  is  beginning  to  prey  on  my  reason." 

The  doctor's  report  that  day  was  written  in  plain 
English : 

"  I  find  Mr.  Davis  in  a  very  critical  state,  his  nervous 
debility  extreme,  his  mind  despondent,  his  appetite  gone, 
complexion  livid,  and  pulse  denoting  deep  prostration 
of  all  vital  energies.  I  am  alarmed  and  anxious  over 
the  responsibility  of  my  position.  If  he  should  die  in 
prison  without  trial,  subject  to  such  severities  as  have 
been  inflicted  on  his  attenuated  frame  the  world  will 
form  conclusions  and  with  enough  color  to  pass  them 
into  history." 

Dr.  Craven  was  getting  too  troublesome.  General 
Miles  dismissed  him,  and  called  in  Dr.  George  Cooper,  a 
physician  whose  political  opinions  were  supposed  to  be 
sounder. 


CHAPTER  XLV 

THE  MASTER  MIND 

Socola  read  the  story  of  the  chaining  of  the  Confed 
erate  Chieftain  with  indignation.  His  intimate  as 
sociation  with  Jefferson  Davis  had  convinced  him  of 
his  singular  purity  of  character  and  loftiness  of  soul. 
That  he  was  capable  of  conspiring  to  murder  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  inconceivable.  That  the  charge  should  be 
made  and  pressed  seriously  by  the  National  Government 
was  a  disgrace  to  the  country. 

Charles  O'Connor,  the  greatest  lawyer  in  America, 
indignant  at  the  outrage,  had  offered  his  services  to 
the  prisoner.  Socola  hastened  to  a  conference  with 
O'Connor  and  placed  himself  at  his  command. 

The  lawyer  sent  him  to  Washington  to  find  out  the 
master  mind  at  the  bottom  of  these  remarkable  pro 
ceedings. 

"  Johnson  the  President,"  he  warned,  u  is  only  a 
tool  in  the  hands  of  a  stronger  man.  Find  that  man. 
Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War,  is  vindictive  enough, 
but  he  lacks  the  cunning.  Stevens,  the  leader  of  the 
House,  is  the  real  ruler  of  the  Nation  at  this  moment. 
Yet  I  have  the  most  positive  information  that  Stevens 
sneers  at  the  attempt  to  accuse  Davis  of  the  assassina 
tion  of  Lincoln.  Stevens  hated  Lincoln  only  a  degree 
less  than  he  hates  Davis.  He  is  blunt,  outspoken,  brutal 
in  his  views.  There  can  be  no  question  of  the  honesty 
of  his  position.  Sumner,  the  leader  of  the  Senate,  is 
incapable  of  such  low  intrigue.  Find  the  man  and  re 
port  to  me." 

496 


THE  MASTER  MIND 


Socola  found  him  within  six  hours  after  his  arrival 
in  Washington.  He  was  morally  sure  of  him  from  the 
moment  he  left  O'Connor's  office. 

Immediately  on  his  arrival  at  the  Capital  he  sought 
an  interview  with  Joseph  Holt,  now  the  Judge  Advo 
cate  General  of  the  United  States  Army.  He  was 
therefore  in  charge  of  the  prosecution  of  the  cases  of 
Clay  and  Davis. 

For  five  minutes  he  watched  the  crooked  poisonous 
mouth  of  the  ex-Secretary  of  War  and  knew  the  truth. 
This  vindictive  venomous  old  man,  ambitious,  avaricious, 
implacable  in  his  hatreds,  had  organized  a  Board  of  As 
sassination,  which  he  called  "  The  Bureau  of  Military 
Justice."  This  remarkable  Bureau  had  already  mur 
dered  Mrs.  Surratt  on  perjured  testimony. 

Socola  had  given  his  ex-Chief  no  intimation  of  his 
personal  feelings  and  no  hint  of  his  association  with 
O'Connor. 

"  I've  a  little  favor  to  ask  of  yon,  young  man,"  Holt 
said  suavely. 

Socola  bowed. 

"  At  your  service,  Chief  — " 

"  I  need  a  man  of  intelligence  and  skill  to  convey  a 
proposition  to  Wirz,  the  keeper  of  Andersonville  prison. 
He  has  been  sentenced  to  death  by  the  Bureau  of  Mili 
tary  Justice.  I'm  going  to  offer  him  his  life  on  one 
condition  — " 

"And  that  is?" 

"  If  he  will  confess  under  oath  that  Davis  ordered 
the  starving  and  torturing  of  prisoners  at  Anderson 
ville  I'll  commute  his  sentence  — " 

"  I  see  — " 

"  I'll  give  you  an  order  to  interview  Wirz.  He  has 
never  seen  you.  Report  to  me  his  answer." 

When  Socola  explained  to  Wirz  in  sympathetic  tones 
the  offer  of  the  Government  to  spare  his  life  for  the 
33  497 


THE  VICTIM 


implication  of  Davis  in  direct  orders  from  Richmond 
commanding  cruelties  at  Andersonville,  the  condemned 
man  lifted  his  wounded  body  and  stared  at  his  visitor. 

His  answer  closed  the  interview. 

"  Tell  the  scoundrel  who  sent  you  that  I  am  a  sol 
dier.  I  was  a  soldier  in  Germany  before  I  cast  my  for 
tunes  with  the  South.  I  bear  in  my  body  the  wounds 
of  honorable  warfare.  If  I  hadn't  time  to  learn  the 
meaning  of  honor  from  my  friends  in  the  South,  my 
mother  taught  me  in  the  old  world.  You  ask  me  to 
save  my  life  from  these  assassins  by  swearing  away  the 
life  of  another.  Tell  my  executioner  that  I  never  saw 
the  President  of  the  Confederacy.  I  never  received  an 
order  of  any  kind  from  him.  I  did  the  best  I  could  for 
the  men  in  my  charge  at  Andersonville  and  tried  hon 
estly  to  improve  their  conditions.  I  am  not  a  perjurer, 
even  to  save  my  own  life.  A  soldier's  business  is  to 
die.  I  am  ready." 

Socola  extended  his  hand  through  the  bars  and 
grasped  the  prisoner's. 

The  deeper  he  dived  into  the  seething  mass  of  cor 
ruption  and  blind  passion  which  had  engulfed  Wash 
ington  the  more  desperate  he  saw  the  situation  of  Davis 
at  Fortress  Monroe.  After  two  weeks  of  careful  work 
he  hurried  to  New  York  and  reported  the  situation  to 
O'Connor. 

"  The  master  mind,"  he  began  slowly,  "  I  found  at 
once.  His  name  is  Holt  — " 

"  The  Judge  Advocate  General?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  That  accounts  for  my  inability  to  obtain  a  copy 
of  the  charges  against  Davis.  Holt  drew  those  charges. 
They  are  in  his  hands  and  he  has  determined  to  press 
his  prisoner  to  trial  before  his  Board  of  Assassins  with 
out  allowing  me  to  know  the  substance  of  his  accusa 
tions.  It's  infamous." 

498 


THE  MASTER  MIND 


"  There  are  complications  which  may  increase  our 
dangers  or  suddenly  lift  them  — " 

"  Complications  —  what  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  The  President,  who  has  been  intensely  hostile  to 
Davis,  realizes  that  his  own  term  of  office  and  possibly 
his  life  are  now  at  stake.  He  has  broken  with  the  Rad 
icals  who  control  Congress,  old  Thaddeus  Stevens's  at 
their  head.  Stevens  lives  in  Washington  in  brazen  de 
fiance  of  conventionalities  with  a  negro  woman  whom 
he  separated  from  her  husband  thirty  odd  years  ago. 
Under  the  influence  of  this  negress  he  has  introduced 
a  bill  into  the  House  of  Representatives  to  confiscate 
the  remaining  property  of  the  white  people  of  the  South 
and  give  it  to  the  negroes  —  dividing  the  land  into  plots 
of  forty  acres  each.  He  proposes  also  to  disfranchise 
the  whites  of  the  Southern  States,  enfranchise  the  ne 
groes,  destroy  the  State  lines  and  erect  on  their  ruins 
territories  ruled  by  negroes  whom  his  faction  can  con 
trol. 

"  Johnson  the  President,  a  Southern  born  white  man, 
has  already  informed  the  Radicals  that  he  will  fight 
this  programme  to  the  last  ditch.  Stevens'  answer  was 
characteristic  of  the  imperious  old  leader.  '  Let  him 
dare !  I'll  impeach  Andrew  Johnson,  remove  him  from 
office  and  hang  him  from  the  balcony  of  the  White 
House.' 

"  The  President  realizes  that  the  Bureau  of  Military 
Justice  which  he  allowed  Holt  to  create  may  be  used 
as  the  engine  of  his  own  destruction.  They  have  al 
ready  taken  the  first  steps  to  impeach  him  — " 

"  Then  he'll  never  dare  allow  another  case  to  be  tried 
before  that  Bureau  — "  O'Connor  interrupted. 

"  It  remains  to  be  seen.  He  is  afraid  of  both  Stan- 
ton  and  Holt.  The  Bureau  of  Military  Justice  is  their 
hobby." 

O'Connor  sprang  to  his  feet, 
499 


THE  VICTIM 


"We  must  smash  it  by  an  appeal  to  the  people. 
Their  sense  of  justice  is  yet  the  salt  that  will  save  the 
Nation.  The  key  to  the  situation  is  in  the  character 
of  the  remarkable  witnesses  whom  Holt  has  produced 
before  this  tribunal  of  assassination.  In  my  judgment 
they  are  a  gang  of  hired  perjurers.  Their  leader  is 
a  fellow  named  Conover.  There  are  five  men  associ 
ated  with  him.  They  used  these  witnesses  against  Mrs. 
Surratt.  They  used  them  against  Wirz.  They  are 
preparing  to  use  them  against  Davis.  It  is  inconceiv 
able  that  these  plugs  from  the  gutters  of  New  York 
could  have  really  stumbled  on  the  facts  to  which  they 
have  sworn.  Find  who  these  men  are.  Get  their  rec 
ords  to  the  last  hour  of  the  day  you  track  them  —  and 
report  to  me." 

Socola  organized  a  force  of  detectives  and  set  them 
to  work.  The  task  was  a  difficult  one.  He  found  that 
Conover  and  his  pals  were  protected  by  the  unlimited 
power  of  the  National  Government. . 


CHAPTER  XLVI 

THE  TORTURE 

While  the  prisoner  fought  to  save  his  reason  in  the 
dungeon  at  Fortress  Monroe,  his  wife  was  denied  the 
right  to  lift  her  hand  in  his  defense.  No  communica 
tion  was  allowed  between  them  except  through  his  jailer. 

On  arrival  in  Savannah  Mrs.  Davis  and  her  children 
were  compelled  to  walk  through  the  blazing  heat  the 
long  distance  from  the  wrharf  uptown,  the  whole  party 
trudging  immigrant  fashion  through  the  streets.  Her 
sister  carried  the  baby.  Mrs.  Davis  and  the  two  little 
boys  and  Maggie  followed  with  parcels,  and  Robert, 
her  faithful  black  man,  brought  up  the  rear  with  the 


The  people  of  Savannah,  on  learning  of  their  ar 
rival,  treated  their  prisoners  with  the  utmost  kindness. 
Every  home  in  the  city  was  thrown  open  to  them.  Her 
children  had  been  robbed  of  all  their  clothing  except 
what  they  wore.  The  neighbors  hurried  in  with 
clothes. 

The  newspaper  of  Savannah  of  the  new  regime,  The 
Republican,  published  and  republished  with  gleeful  com 
ments  the  most  sensational  accounts  of  the  brutal  scene 
of  the  shackling  of  Davis.  Maggie  composed  a  prayer 
and  taught  her  little  brothers  to  repeat  it  in  concert 
for  their  grace  at  the  table  morning,  noon  and  night: 

"  Dear  Lord,  give  our  father  something  he  can  eat, 
and  keep  him  strong,  and  bring  him  back  to  us  with 
eyes  that  can  see  and  in  his  good  senses,  to  his  little  chil 
dren,  for  Jesus'  sake." 

501 


THE  VICTIM 


Nearly  every  day  the  child  who  composed  the  prayer 
was  so  moved  by  its  recital  she  would  run  from  the  table 
and  dry  her  tears  in  the  next  room  before  she  could 
eat. 

Hourly  scenes  of  violence  increased  between  the  whites 
and  the  inflamed  blacks.  A  negro  sentinel  leveled  his 
gun  at  little  Jeff  and  threatened  to  shoot  him  for  calling 
him  "  Uncle."  With  prayers  and  tears  the  mother  sent 
her  children  away  to  the  home  of  a  friend  in  Montreal. 

A  year  passed  before  President  Johnson  in  answer 
to  the  wife's  desperate  pleading  permitted  her  to  visit 
her  husband  in  prison.  She  arrived  from  Montreal  on 
the  cold  raw  morning  of  May  10,  1866,  at  four  o'clock 
before  day.  There  was  no  hotel  at  the  fort  at  that 
time  and  the  mother  was  compelled  to  sit  in  the  deso 
late  little  waiting  room  with  her  baby  without  a  fire 
until  ten  o'clock. 

General  Miles  called.  His  references  to  her  husband 
were  made  in  a  manner  which  brutally  expressed  his 
hatred  and  contempt.  She  had  been  informed  that  his 
health  was  in  so  dangerous  a  condition  that  physicians 
had  despaired  of  his  life. 

Miles  hastened  to  say: 

"  *  Davis  '  is  in  good  health  — " 

"  I  can  see  him  at  once?  "  she  begged. 

"Yes.  You  understand  the  terms  of  your  parole 
that  you  are  to  take  no  ^  deadly  „  weepons  into  the 
prison  ?  " 

Suppressing  a  smile  at  the  unique  use  of  the  lan 
guage  which  a  man  of  the  rank  of  Miles  could  make 
she  replied  quickly: 

"  I  understand.  Please  arrange  that  I  can  see  him 
at  once." 

Without  answering  the  jailer  turned  and  left  the 
room.  In  a  few  minutes  an  officer  appeared  who  con 
ducted  her  to  the  room  in  Carroll  Hall  to  which  Dr. 

502 


THE  TORTURE 


Cooper  had  forced  Miles  to  remove  the  prisoner.  Dr. 
Cooper  proved  as  troublesome  to  the  General  as  Dr. 
Craven.  In  fact  a  little  more  so.  He  had  a  way  of 
swearing  when  angered  which  made  the  General  nerv 
ous.  American  physicians  don't  make  good  politicians 
when  the  life  of  a  patient  is  involved. 

They  were  challenged  by  three  lines  of  sentries,  each 
requiring  a  password,  ascended  a  stairway,  turned  to 
the  right  and  entered  a  guard  room  where  three  young 
officers  were  sitting.  Through  the  bars  of  the  inner 
room  the  wife  gazed  at  her  husband  with  streaming  eyes. 

His  body  had  shrunk  to  a  skeleton,  his  eyes  set  and 
glassy,  his  cheek  bones  pressing  against  the  shining  skin. 
He  rose  and  tottered  across  the  room,  his  breath  com 
ing  in  short  gasps,  his  voice  scarcely  audible. 

Mrs.  Davis  was  locked  in  with  him.  She  sent  the 
baby  back  to  her  quarters  by  Frederick,  another  faith 
ful  negro  servant  who  had  followed  their  fortunes 
through  good  report  and  evil. 

His  room  had  a  horse  bucket  for  water,  a  basin  and 
pitcher  on  an  old  chair  whose  back  had  been  sawed  off, 
a  little  iron  bedstead  with  hard  mattress,  one  pillow, 
a  wooden  table,  and  a  wooden  chair  with  one  leg  shorter 
than  the  others  which  might  be  used  as  an  improvised 
rocker.  His  bed  was  so  thick  with  bugs  the  room  was 
filled  with  their  odor.  He  was  so  innocent  of  such  things 
he  couldn't  imagine  what  distressed  him  so  at  night 
—  insisting  that  he  had  contracted  some  sort  of  skin 
disease. 

His  dinner  was  brought  slopped  from  one  dish  to 
another  and  covered  by  a  gray  hospital  towel  sogged 
with  the  liquids.  The  man  of  fastidious  taste  glanced 
at  the  platter  and  saw  that  the  good  doctor's  wife  had 
added  oysters  to  his  menu  that  day  and  ate  one.  His 
vitality  was  so  low  even  this  gave  him  intense  pain. 

He  was  not  bitter,  but  expressed  his  quiet  contempt 
503 


THE  VICTIM 


for  the  systematic  petty  insults  which  his  jailer  was 
now  heaping  on  him  daily.  His  physician  had  de 
manded  that  he  take  exercise  in  the  open  air.  Miles 
always  walked  with  him  and  never  permitted  an  oc 
casion  of  this  kind  to  pass  without  directing  at  his 
helpless  prisoner  personal  insults  so  offensive  that  Davis 
always  cut  his  walks  short  to  be  rid  of  his  tormentor. 
On  one  occasion  the  general  was  so  brutal  in  his  con 
versation  after  he  had  locked  his  prisoner  in  his  room 
that  he  suddenly  sprang  at  the  bars,  grasped  them  with 
his  trembling,  skeleton  hands  and  cried: 

"  But  for  these  you  should  answer  to  me  —  here  and 
now!" 

A  favorite  pastime  of  his  jailer  was  to  admit  crowds 
of  vulgar  sightseers  and  permit  them  to  gaze  at  his 
prisoner. 

A  woman  inquired  of  Frederick,  who  was  on  his  way 
to  his  room : 

"Where's  Jeff?  " 

The  negro  bowed  gravely  and  drew  his  stalwart  figure 
erect : 

"  I  am  sorry,  madame,  not  to  be  able  to  tell  you.  I 
do  not  know  any  such  person." 

"Yes,  you  do  —  aren't  you  his  servant?  " 

"  No,  madame,  you  are  mistaken.  I  have  the  honor 
to  serve  ex-President  Davis." 

Only  a  great  soul  can  command  the  love  and  respect 
of  servants  as  did  this  quiet  grave  statesman  of  the 
old  regime. 

Never  during  the  long  hours  of  these  weeks  and 
months  of  torture  did  he  lose  his  dignity  or  his  lofty 
bearing  quail  before  his  tormentor.  He  was  too  re 
fined  and  dignified  to  be  abusive,  and  too  proud  in  Gen 
eral  Miles'  delicate  phraseology  to  "  beg." 

The  loving  wife  began  now  her  desperate  fight  to 
nurse  him  back  into  life  again. 

504 


THE  TORTURE 


The  new  Commandant  of  the  fort,  General  Burton, 
who  replaced  Miles,  proved  himself  a  gentleman  and  a 
soldier  of  the  old  school.  He  immediately  gave  to  the 
prisoner  every  courtesy  possible  and  to  his  wife  sym 
pathy  and  help. 

The  Bishop  of  Montreal  sent  him  a  case  of  green 
chartreuse  from  his  own  stores.  This  powerful  diges 
tive  stimulant  helped  his  feeble  appetite  to  take  the 
nourishment  needed  to  sustain  life  and  slowly  build  his 
strength. 

He  could  sleep  only  when  read  to,  and  many  a  day 
dawned  on  the  worn  figure  of  his  wife  still  droning  her 
voice  into  his  sensitive  ears,  with  one  hand  on  his  pulse 
praying  God  it  might  still  beat.  At  times  it  stopped, 
and  then  she  roused  the  sleeper,  gave  him  the  stimulant 
and  made  him  eat  something  which  she  always  kept 
ready.  Dr.  Cooper  had  warned  that  the  walls  of  his 
heart  were  so  weak  even  a  sound  sleep  might  prove  his 
death  if  too  long  continued. 


CHAPTER  XL VII 

VINDICATION 

When  Socola  had  finished  his  work  developing  the 
history  and  character  of  Conover  and  his  crew  of  pro 
fessional  perjurers  there  was  a  sudden  collapse  in  the 
machinery  of  the  Bureau  of  Military  Justice.  Holt 
was  compelled  not  only  to  repudiate  the  wretches  by 
whose  hired  testimony  he  had  committed  more  than  one 
murder  through  the  forms  of  military  law,  but  also  to 
issue  a  long  document  defending  himself  as  Judge  Ad 
vocate  General  of  the  United  States  from  the  charge 
of  subornation  of  perjury  —  the  vilest  accusation  that 
can  be  brought  against  a  sworn  officer  of  any  court. 
His  weak  defense  served  its  purpose  for  the  moment. 
He  managed  to  cling  to  his  office  and  his  salary  for 
a  brief  season.  With  the  advent  of  restored  law  he 
sank  into  merited  oblivion. 

The  charge  of  murder  having  collapsed,  the  Gov 
ernment  now  pressed  against  Davis  an  indictment  for 
treason.  Salmon  P.  Chase,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  warned  the  President  and  his  Cabinet 
that  no  such  charge  could  be  sustained. 

And  still  malice  held  the  Confederate  Chieftain  a  pris 
oner.  Every  other  leader  of  the  South  had  long  since 
been  released.  On  the  public  exposure  of  Holt  and  his 
perjurers  the  conscience  of  the  North,  led  by  Horace 
Greeley  and  Gerrit  Smith,  demanded  the  speedy  trial 
or  release  of  Davis. 

The  Radical  conspirators  at  Washington,  under  the 
leadership  of  Stevens  inspired  by  his  dusky  compan- 

506 


VINDICATION 


Ion,  were  now  pressing  with  feverish  haste  their  pro 
gramme  of  revolution.  They  passed  each  measure  over 
the  veto  of  the  President  amid  jeers,  groans  and  curses. 
They  disfranchised  one-third  of  the  whites  of  the  South, 
gave  the  ballot  to  a  million  ignorant  negroes  but  yes 
terday  taken  from  the  jungles  of  Africa,  blotted  out 
the  civil  governments  of  the  Southern  States,  and  sent 
the  army  back  to  enforce  their  decrees.  Stevens  intro 
duced  his  bill  to  confiscate  the  property  of  the  whites 
and  give  it  to  the  negroes.  This  measure  was  his  pet. 
It  was  the  only  one  of  his  schemes  which  would  be  de 
feated  on  a  two-thirds  vote  if  Johnson  should  veto  it. 
Stevens  and  Butler  at  once  drew  their  bill  of  indict 
ment  against  the  President  and  set  in  motion  the  ma 
chinery  to  remove  him  from  office  —  the  grim  old  leader 
still  swearing  that  he  would  hang  him. 

In  this  auspicious  moment  Charles  O'Connor  mar 
shaled  his  forces  and  demanded  the  release  of  Davis  on 
bail.  Andrew  Johnson  had  seen  a  new  light.  He  was 
now  in  a  life  and  death  struggle  with  the  newly  en 
throned  mob  to  save  the  Republic  from  a  Dictatorship. 
The  conspirators  had  already  selected  the  man  they 
proposed  to  set  up  on  his  removal  from  office. 

The  President  issued  an  order  to  General  Burton  at 
Fortress  Monroe  to  produce  his  prisoner  in  the  United 
States  District  Court  of  Richmond. 

On  May  fourth,  1867,  the  little  steamer  from  the 
fort  touched  the  wharf  at  Richmond  and  Jefferson 
Davis  and  his  wife  once  more  appeared  in  the  Capital 
of  the  Confederacy. 

The  South  had  come  to  greet  them. 

All  differences  of  opinion  were  stilled  before  the  white 
face  of  the  man  who  had  been  put  in  irons  for  their 
sins.  They  came  from  the  four  corners  of  the  country 
for  which  he  had  toiled  and  suffered. 

Senator  Barton,  his  wife  and  daughter  and  all  his 
507 


THE  VICTIM 


surviving  sons  had  come  from  Fairview  to  do  him  honor. 
A  vast  crowd  assembled  at  the  wharf.  No  king  ever 
entered  his  palace  with  grander  welcome.  The  road 
from  the  wharf  to  the  Spotswood  Hotel  was  a  living 
sea  of  humanity.  His  carriage  couldn't  move  until  the 
way  was  forced  open  by  the  mounted  police.  The  win 
dows  and  roofs  of  every  house  were  crowded.  Men  and 
women  everywhere  were  in  tears.  As  the  carriage 
turned  into  Main  Street  a  man  shouted : 

"  Hats  off,  Virginians  !  " 

Every  head  was  bared  in  the  vast  throng  which 
stretched  a  mile  along  the  thoroughfare.  As  he  passed 
in  triumph,  the  people  for  whom  he  had  worked  and 
suffered  crowded  to  his  carriage,  stretched  out  their 
hands  in  silence  and  touched  his  garments  while  the  tears 
rolled  down  their  cheeks. 

They  arraigned  him  for  trial  on  a  charge  of  high 
treason. 

The  indictment  had  also  named  Robert  E.  Lee  as 
guilty  of  the  same  crime.  Grant  lifted  his  mailed  fist 
and  told  the  Government  he  would  fight  if  necessary  to 
protect  the  man  who  had  surrendered  in  good  faith  to 
his  army.  The  peanut  politicians  dropped  Lee's  name. 

When  the  tall,  emaciated  leader  of  the  South  stood 
erect  before  his  accusers  in  court  he  faced  a  scene  which 
proclaimed  the  advent  of  the  new  Democracy  in  Amer 
ica  which  must  yet  make  good  its  right  to  live. 

On  the  Judge's  bench  sat  John  C.  Underwood,  a 
crawling,  shambling,  shuffling,  ignorant  demagogue  who 
had  set  a  new  standard  of  judicial  honor  and  dignity. 
He  had  selected  one  of  the  handsomest  homes  in  Vir 
ginia,  ordered  it  confiscated  as  a  Federal  judge,  and 
made  his  wife  buy  it  in  and  convey  it  to  him  after  warn 
ing  other  bidders  to  keep  off  the  scene.  The  thief  was 
living  in  his  stolen  mansion  on  the  day  he  sat  down  be 
side  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  in  this  trial. 

508 


VINDICATION 


When  Chase  had  warned  the  Government  that  ne  charge 
of  treason  could  stand  against  Davis,  Underwood  as 
sured  the  Attorney  General  that  he  would  fix  a  negro 
jury  in  Richmond  which  could  be  relied  on  to  give  the 
verdict  necessary.  He  had  impaneled  the  first  grand 
jury  ever  assembled  in  America  composed  of  negroes 
and  whites.  A  negro  petit  jury  now  sat  in  the  box 
.grinning  at  the  judge,  their  thick  lips,  flat  noses  and 
omnipotent  African  odor  proclaiming  the  dawn  of  a 
new  era  in  the  history  of  America. 

Salmon  P.  Chase  with  quiet  dignity  voted  to  quash 
the  indictment.  Underwood  with  a  vulgar  stump 
speech  to  the  crowd  >  of  negroes  voted  to  hold  the  indict 
ment  good.  The  case  was  sent  to  the  Supreme  Court 
on  this  disagreement  and  the  defendant  admitted  to 
bail. 

Horace  Greeley  and  Gerrit  Smith,  Cornelius  Vander- 
bilt  and  Augustus  Schell,  representing  the  noblest  spirit 
in  the  North  were  among  the  men  who  signed  his  bail 
bond. 

When  he  was  released  and  walked  out  of  the  court 
room  cheer  after  cheer  swept  the  struggling  crowd  that 
greeted  him.  Senator  Barton  took  the  driver's  place 
on  the  box  while  thousands  followed  to  the  hotel  snout 
ing  themselves  hoarse.  For  three  hours  he  stood  shak 
ing  the  hands  of  weeping  men  and  women.  No  sublimer 
tribute  was  ever  paid  to  human  worth.  It  came  with 
healing  to  his  wounded  soul.  The  anguish  of  the  past 
was  as  if  it  had  never  been. 

Jennie  Barton  gazed  with  astonishment  when  Socola 
grasped  his  outstretched  hand.  She  was  standing  near 
enough  to  hear  his  voice. 

"  I  want  to  thank  you,  young  man,"  he  said  grate 
fully,  "  for  all  you've  done  for  me  and  mine.  Mr. 
O'Connor  tells  me  that  your  services  have  been  inval 
uable.  For  myself,  my  wife  and  babies  and  my  people, 

509 


THE  VICTIM 


I  thank  you  again.  I  wish  I  might  do  something  to 
repay  you  — " 

"  I've  only  done  my  duty,"  was  the  modest  response. 
"  But  I  think  you  might  help  me  a  little  — " 

"  If  it's  within  my  power  — " 

"  You  remember  Miss  Barton  ?  " 

"I've  just  shaken  hands  with  her  —  she  is  here!" 

"  Would  you  mind  putting  in  a  word  — " 

"  I'll  do  more,  sir  —  I'm  in  command  to-day.  I'll' 
issue  positive  orders  — " 

Jennie  moved,  he  saw  her  and  beckoned.  She  came, 
blushing. 

"What's  this,  my  little  comrade?"  he  whispered, 
seizing  her  hands.  "  The  war  is  over.  I've  shaken 
hands  with  Horace  Greeley  and  Gerrit  Smith  to-day. 
There  can  be  no  stragglers  in  our  camp.  I  owe  my  life 
to  this  young  man." 

He  took  Jennie's  hand,  placed  it  on  Socola's  arm, 
and  he  led  her  silent  and  blushing  from  the  crowd  to 
an  alcove  in  the  far  corner  of  the  hall. 

She  looked  up  into  his  face  with  tenderness. 

"  You've  done  a  noble  and  beautiful  thing  in  the  gift 
of  your  life  to  our  Chief  for  these  two  miserable 
years  — " 

"They've  been  miserable  to  you?" 

She  smiled. 

"  But  I  knew  you  would  come  — " 

"You'll  not  send  me  away  again?" 

She  slowly  slipped  her  arms  around  his  neck  and 
kissed  him. 

They  stood  on  the  balcony  hand  in  hand  and  watched 
the  crowds  surging  about  the  carriage  as  the  tall 
Chieftain  left  the  hotel  to  take  the  train  to  gieet  his 
children. 

Socola  uncovered  his  head  and  spoke  reverently. 

"  He  belongs  to  the  race  of  giants  who  have  made 
510 


VINDICATION 


our  Nation  what  it  is  to-day.  We  owe  a  debt  to  the 
unflinching  dignity  and  honesty  of  his  mind.  He  made 
hedging,  trimming  and  compromise  impossible  —  the  is 
sues  which  divided  us  of  Life  and  Death.  A  weaker 
man  would  have  wavered  and  we  should  have  had  to 
fight  our  battles  over  again.  They  have  been  settled 
for  all  time." 

Jennie  lifted  her  eyes  to  his: 

"  What's  your  name,  my  sweetheart  ?  " 

He  laughed  softly. 

"  Does  it  matter  now  ?  Our  country's  one  —  my 
name  is  Love." 

(1) 


THE  END 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


APE  2  5.  1966    5 

ffR  1  9  66  b  y  ft  C  ll 

yi/1/nt.p 

1  / 

'J            ^:   '    ,             iV;      J.    A   7^ 

Mfwo72P|9§5 

npr.  r>  7  prr-n 

General  Library 


b/UlO 


GENERAL  LIBRARY  -  U.C.  BERKELEY 


912727 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


